Jules Breton
Study for “The Communicants”
1882
Physical Qualities
Oil on canvas, Unframed (Approximate): 17 7/8 × 12 7/8 in. (45.4 × 32.7 cm.)
Framed: 23 1/8 × 18 1/4 × 4 in. (58.7 × 46.4 × 10.2 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
1996.45.45
In this preparatory painting and the corresponding preparatory painting [to the left/right], a solemn young woman in a brilliant white dress and veil stands among lush trees while she waits to receive the Catholic rite of Communion. Throughout his career, Jules Breton often showed the realities of the laboring classes in rural France, including their devout religious practices. Breton created these oil studies in preparation for a large composition entitled The Communicants, completed in 1884, which depicts a procession of similarly dressed young women preparing to enter a church. The artist executed the paintings with thick brushstrokes, capturing the strong fall of light over the figures as they stand set against a verdant outdoor landscape.
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, "A Century of Baltimore Collecting 1840-1940", June 6-September 1, 1941.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "The George A. Lucas Collection of the Maryland Institute", October 12-November 21, 1965.
Shepherd Gallery Associates, New York, NY, "Christian Imagery in French Nineteenth Century Art", May 20-July 26, 1980.
Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha, Nebraska, "Jules Breton and the French Rural Tradition", November 5, 1982-January 2, 1983; circulated to Dixon Gallery and Gardens, Memphis, Tennessee, January 16-March 6, 1983; Sterling and Francine Clark Institute, Williamstown, Massachusetts, April 2-June 5, 1983.
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.
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, "A Century of Baltimore Collecting 1840-1940", June 6-September 1, 1941.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "The George A. Lucas Collection of the Maryland Institute", October 12-November 21, 1965.
Shepherd Gallery Associates, New York, NY, "Christian Imagery in French Nineteenth Century Art", May 20-July 26, 1980.
Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha, Nebraska, "Jules Breton and the French Rural Tradition", November 5, 1982-January 2, 1983; circulated to Dixon Gallery and Gardens, Memphis, Tennessee, January 16-March 6, 1983; Sterling and Francine Clark Institute, Williamstown, Massachusetts, April 2-June 5, 1983.
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.
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. #82.
"A Century of Baltimore Collecting 1840-1940," Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 1941, p. #36.
"The George A. Lucas Collection of the Maryland Institute," Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 1965, cat. #45.
Inscribed: FACE: BR, (in black), 'Jules Breton'; BR, below signature (in blue), '1883'. VERSO, FRAME: TC, 'Succession G.A. Lucas...17'; TC, backboard, 'Joslyn Art Museum/2200 Dodge Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68102, 402-342-3300/'JULES BRETON AND THE FRENCH RURAL TRADITION'/October 1982 - June 1983/...[label info]'.
On View at the BMA
