Pierre Puvis de ChavannesFrench, 1824–1898La Générosité
Can I see it?
Yes, on view now
Where is “La Générosité” now? Victoria and Albert Museum, In store, London. Yes, on view now. Checked September 25, 2026.
London, United Kingdom
Open now· until 5:45 PM
On public display.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the painting
Pierre Puvis de Chavannes (1824-1898) was born in Lyon and only in 1847, after a first trip to Italy, studied for several months with Henri Scheffer (1798-1862) and subsequently with Louis Bauderon de Vermeron (1809-after 1870). Puvis exhibited for the first time at the Salon in 1850 and developed a vocation for decorative works which would form an important part of his oeuvre. He had a great influence on his generation and the next generation of artists including Paul Gauguin and the Nabis up to Picasso and Matisse.
This painting is a preparatory study for a ceiling decoration in the Hotel de Ville in Paris and is one of his few works in a British public collection. It shows a half-nude female figure flanked by two angels and is an allegory of Generosity. With his simple broad planes and ethereal landscape, Puvis de Chavannes' oeuvre offered a fine example of the Symbolist art.
Victoria and Albert Museum
Details
- Accession number
- E.917-1911
What it shows
In the catalog
Sources
- Victoria and Albert Museum
- Image: Victoria and Albert Museum — © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
