Jean-Adrien Guignet
Afterglow on the Banks of the Nile
c. 1840-1848
Physical Qualities
Oil on canvas, Unframed: 16 3/4 × 28 7/8 in. (42.5 × 73.3 cm.)
Framed: 28 × 39 1/2 × 4 1/4 in. (71.1 × 100.3 × 10.8 cm.)
Credit Line
The George A. Lucas Collection, purchased with funds from the State of Maryland, Laurence and Stella Bendann Fund, and contributions from individuals, foundations, and corporations throughout the Baltimore community
Object Number
1996.45.125
Collector George Lucas was undoubtedly attracted to this composition by its powerful
evocation of the romanticism of the Near East and North Africa. The image is distilled to the essence of the evening’s gloaming, the moment before the light disappears. Europe’s fascination with Orientalism continued well into the nineteenth century with many
artists traveling to exotic locales in search of subjects. Little is known of the life and career of Guignet, a history and landscape painter, who studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and exhibited his work at the annual Salons in the 1840s.
The Baltimore Museum of Art by purchase, 1996; The Maryland Institute College of Art,
through Henry Walters, Baltimore, by bequest 1909; from George A. Lucas, Paris
through Henry Walters, Baltimore, by bequest 1909; from George A. Lucas, Paris
The Maryland Institute, Baltimore, "Exhibition of the George A. Lucas Art Collection", 1911.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "The George A. Lucas Collection of the Maryland Institute", October 12-November 21, 1965.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "The Lucas Collection", June 27-Fall 1974.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Parallels and Precedents, The George A. Lucas Collection in Context", August 23-October 15, 1995.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "The George A. Lucas Collection: Maryland's Treasure", circulated to Government House, Annapolis, January 6-April 21, 1997; Strathmore Hall, North Bethesda, September 4-November 1, 1997; Academy of the Arts, Easton, January 31-March 7, 1998; and Washington County Museum of Fine Arts, Hagerstown, July 26-September 27, 1998.
James Smalls, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Henry Ossawa Tanner and the Lure of Paris", December 7, 2005-May 28, 2005.
Sona Johnston, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "A View Toward Paris: The Lucas Collection of 19th-Century French Art", October 1, 2006-December 31, 2006.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "The George A. Lucas Collection of the Maryland Institute", October 12-November 21, 1965.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "The Lucas Collection", June 27-Fall 1974.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Parallels and Precedents, The George A. Lucas Collection in Context", August 23-October 15, 1995.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "The George A. Lucas Collection: Maryland's Treasure", circulated to Government House, Annapolis, January 6-April 21, 1997; Strathmore Hall, North Bethesda, September 4-November 1, 1997; Academy of the Arts, Easton, January 31-March 7, 1998; and Washington County Museum of Fine Arts, Hagerstown, July 26-September 27, 1998.
James Smalls, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Henry Ossawa Tanner and the Lure of Paris", December 7, 2005-May 28, 2005.
Sona Johnston, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "A View Toward Paris: The Lucas Collection of 19th-Century French Art", October 1, 2006-December 31, 2006.
"Exhibition of the George A. Lucas Art Collection," Baltimore: The Maryland Institute, 1911, cat. #35.
"The George A. Lucas Collection of the Maryland Institute," Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 1965, cat. #125.
"The Lucas Collection," Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 1974, cat. #125.
Inscribed: FACE: BR, 'Adrien G.'. VERSO, STRETCHER: Center support, 'ADRIEN GUIGNET/né a Annecy (savoie) decedé/á Paris 19 Mai 1854/1816 - 1854/Decamps etait frappe tres ?.../? quality de...(?)' (see remarks).
On View: Jacobs, Gallery 3
