Heaven and Hell

The Cleveland Museum of Art · Bequest of Noah L. Butkin

Museum

Heaven and Hell

c. 1850

ArtistOctave Tassaert (French, 1800–1874)

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Medium: oil on fabric
Dimensions: Framed: 121 x 90.5 x 6.5 cm (47 5/8 x 35 5/8 x 2 9/16 in.); Unframed: 100 x 69.5 cm (39 3/8 x 27 3/8 in.)
Classification: Painting
Style: Mod Euro - Painting 1800-1960
Origin: France, 19th century
Institution: The Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit: Bequest of Noah L. Butkin

Market Intelligence

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Public evidence

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Provenance

Public

Provenance event

Georges Martin du Nord, Paris, France

Provenance event

(Shepherd Gallery, New York, NY)

-1977

(Shepherd Gallery, New York, NY, May 1977, sold to Mr. and Mrs. Noah L. Butkin)

1977-1980

Mr. Noah L. Butkin, Cleveland, OH by bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art

1980-

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Source provenance text

Georges Martin du Nord, Paris, France (Shepherd Gallery, New York, NY) (Shepherd Gallery, New York, NY, May 1977, sold to Mr. and Mrs. Noah L. Butkin) Mr. Noah L. Butkin, Cleveland, OH by bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

The Cleveland Museum of Artconfidence 100%

Exhibitions

Public

Year in Review: 1980

Source exhibition text

Year in Review: 1980. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (June 24-July 19, 1981). New York, Shepherd Gallery. Christian Imagery in French Nineteenth Century Art 1789-1906 (Spring 1980), no. 60 (repr.).

The Cleveland Museum of Artconfidence 100%

Sourced Overview Evidence

This painting focuses upon the struggle between good and evil for the soul of a young woman. Looking out at the viewer, she is shown in the upper center of the composition, immediately below an angel and directly above Satan. At the upper right Saint Michael—holding scales for weighing the goodness of souls—admits the blessed to Heaven. Below, the Damned struggle to avoid the fiery pits of Hell and the demons that will torment them for eternity. At the time Tassaert painted this work, France was undergoing considerable political upheaval. In 1848, the country was wracked by a civil war between royalist and republican forces. Tassaert himself believed strongly in the Republic, and probably intended the young woman—caught between the sensual, worldly temptations of royalist excesses and the noble, pure ideals of the Republic—to personify the country of France.

The Cleveland Museum of Artconfidence 100%

Evidence state

0 observed sales · 0 comparable sales · 5 structured provenance events · 1 structured exhibitions.

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