Public data from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Learn more
Three Fishermen Along the Banks of a River at the Edge of a Forest
Also known as: Near Rochefort
About the Artwork
Adolphe Appian was renowned during the 19th century for his mastery of charcoal drawing. He specialized in large-scale landscapes depicting Lyon, his native region in southeastern France, and focused on what he termed “private little corners” rather than grandiose views. This drawing is one of several in which Appian depicted the winding Rhône River and the dense trees and large boulders that surrounded it. Two small fishermen give a sense of scale and draw the viewer into the scene. Appian worked with charcoal sticks and powder, wiping the material with cloth, paper, and even breadcrumbs before scratching into the paper’s surface to create an unprecedented tonal range.
Inscriptions
inscribed, lower left, in dark brown ink: Appian 1868
Provenance
the artist’s family, by descent ?: (Paul Prouté, Paris, sold to Nicholas and Margaret Grasselli) 2012-2017: Nicholas and Margaret Grasselli, Washington, D.C. 2017: (W. M. Brady, & Co., New York, NY) 2017-2021: Private Collection, United States 2021: (Jill Newhouse Gallery, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) 2021-: Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Exhibition history
Nineteenth-Century French Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 20-June 11, 2023).
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Adolphe Appian (French, 1818–1898)
- Date
- 1868
- Medium
- charcoal with stumping and scratching out and touches of white chalk on beige paper
- Dimensions
- Sheet: 59.4 x 98.5 cm (23 3/8 x 38 3/4 in.); Secondary Support: 60.5 x 99.5 cm (23 13/16 x 39 3/16 in.)
- Type
- Drawing
- Classification
- Drawing
- Department
- Drawings
- Credit line
- Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
- Accession no.
- 2021.140
More by Adolphe Appian in museum collections
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Open-access museum record · AT-00011117
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