Who painted Plaster Cast from the Depaulis Collection?

Plaster Cast from the Depaulis Collection was painted by Henri Le Secq in 1854.

Where can I see Plaster Cast from the Depaulis Collection?

Plaster Cast from the Depaulis Collection is held by Cleveland Museum of Art.

What movement is Plaster Cast from the Depaulis Collection?

Plaster Cast from the Depaulis Collection is associated with Impressionism.

Artwork

Plaster Cast from the Depaulis Collection

Henri Le Secq , 1854

Plaster Cast from the Depaulis Collection is a photography by the Impressionist artist Henri Le Secq. It dates from 1854 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.

About this work

Check out Henri Le Secq (French, 1818–1882) next time you visit the Cleveland Museum of Art.

This photo shows a white plaster hand holding a scroll. The fingers curve gently around the paper. Light catches the edges of the fingers and the scroll’s folds.

Le Secq took this in the 1850s, when photographers still tested how to record sculpture. He used a glass plate coated with light-sensitive chemicals. The process took minutes, not seconds.

Check out Henri Le Secq (French, 1818–1882) next time you visit the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Overview

This photograph by Henri Le Secq depicts a plaster cast from the collection of Alexis-Joseph Depaulis, a French engraver and collector.

Subject & Meaning

The plaster cast is a reproduction of a neoclassical funerary sculpture, likely created by a French artist in the early 19th century. It features a hand grasping a scroll, with the fingers curled around it.

Technique & Style

Le Secq used a glass plate coated with light-sensitive chemicals to capture the image, a process that required lengthy exposure times. The resulting photograph is characterized by deep, diffused shadows that accentuate the texture of the plaster cast.

History & Provenance

The photograph was taken in the 1850s, a period when photographers were experimenting with techniques for recording sculpture. It is part of a small, rare group of photographs of Depaulis's collection.