Public collection via the Cleveland Museum of Art
AT-00011219Portrait of Alfred de Musset (1810-1857)
About the Artwork
This portrait is one of only a few that Alexandre Bida—known primarily for his depictions of North Africa—created during his career. It depicts the celebrated French poet and novelist Alfred de Musset (1810–1857). Bida was commissioned to create illustrations for an 1865 publication of Musset’s collected writings, and the drawing was likely completed in commemoration of that project.
Inscriptions
Watermark: Wise / 1820, vertical at lower right; Signed, at lower right, in black chalk: “A Bida”
Provenance
Shepherd Gallery, New York, NY 1977-1980: Mr. Noah L. Butkin [1918-1980] 1980-2008: Mrs. Muriel Butkin [1915-2008] March 4, 2019: the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Alexandre Bida (French, 1823–1895)
- Date
- c. 1850s
- Medium
- black chalk and graphite with stumping, watercolor, gouache, and fabricated colored chalk on medium weight wove paper
- Dimensions
- Overall: 43.6 x 30.7 cm (17 3/16 x 12 1/16 in.)
- Type
- Drawing
- Classification
- Drawing
- Department
- Drawings
- Credit line
- Bequest of Muriel Butkin
- Accession no.
- 2019.62
More by Alexandre Bida in museum collections
Open-access museum record · AT-00011219
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