Magnolias on Light Blue Velvet Cloth
This painting dates from the later part of Martin Johnson Heade’s long, varied, and peripatetic career. After traveling through the United States, to England and continental Europe, and three different times to Brazil, Heade settled in Saint Augustine, Florida, at the age of 64. There he began painting detailed arrangements of native flowers, including the Cherokee rose, orange blossom, and, as in this work, magnolia.
Colors in this work
Details
- Artist
- Martin Johnson Heade
- Date
- 1885–95
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 38.6 × 61.8 cm (15 1/4 × 24 3/8 in.)
- Origin
- Florida
- Department
- Arts of the Americas
- Holding institution
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Palette
-
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- Image provider
- art-institute-chicago
- License
- CC0-1.0
- Credit
- Purchased with funds provided by Gloria and Richard Manney; Harold L. Stuart Endowment Fund
Art Genome Taxonomy
7 tags
Subject Matter
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Still Life Both · 99%
The image depicts an arranged group of magnolia blossoms, buds, leaves, and branches, and the museum catalogs the work as a still life.
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Flora Both · 99%
Flowers, leaves, buds, and branches are the principal visible subjects; the title and museum description identify the flowers as magnolias.
Visual Qualities
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Highly Detailed Visual · 94%
The petals, leaves, buds, branches, and cloth folds are rendered with close attention to surface, contour, and tonal variation.
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Dark Colors Visual · 91%
Deep brown, blue-green, and near-black areas dominate the ground and lower portions of the composition, contrasting with the pale blossoms.
Medium and Techniques
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Oil Painting Metadata · 99%
The Art Institute of Chicago identifies the medium as oil on canvas.
Time Periods
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19th Century Art Metadata · 99%
The work is dated 1885–95, placing it in the nineteenth century.
Geographic Regions
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American Art Metadata · 97%
The artist is identified as American, and the work’s place of origin is given as Florida.
Source & rights
Martin Johnson Heade. Magnolias on Light Blue Velvet Cloth. The Art Institute of Chicago.
High-resolution sources
- IIIF image service ↗ 1,686 × 1,036 · Art Institute Chicago · Availability not yet probed