Title: The Pot of Basil
Artist: After Alexandre Cabanel (1823–1889), French Academic painter
Medium: Mezzogravure (photogravure print), with embossed stamp “IM MEZZOGRAVURE B”
Date: ca. 1900–1915 (wedding gift in 1916)
Dimensions: Image approx. 20 ½" × 25"; framed approx. 26" × 31"; weight ~9 lbs
Condition: Very good; slight toning consistent with age. Original frame, rematted in 1980s.
Provenance
Gifted to Ray & May (Tomlinson) Kimmel, Topeka, Kansas, on February 5, 1916, as a wedding present. Handwritten note on the back of the frame confirms provenance.
Subject & Description
The mezzogravure depicts a woman in classical drapery leaning over a large pot of basil, an imagery drawn from John Keats’ 1818 poem 'Isabella; or, The Pot of Basil'. The subject became a popular theme among 19th-century painters, including Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, and Alexandre Cabanel. It reflects romanticism, loss, and devotion — themes prized by Victorian and Edwardian audiences.
Title: The Pot of Basil
Artist: After Alexandre Cabanel (1823–1889), French Academic painter
Medium: Mezzogravure (photogravure print), with embossed stamp “IM MEZZOGRAVURE B”
Date: ca. 1900–1915 (wedding gift in 1916)
Dimensions: Image approx. 20 ½" × 25"; framed approx. 26" × 31"; weight ~9 lbs
Condition: Very good; slight toning consistent with age. Original frame, rematted in 1980s.
Provenance
Gifted to Ray & May (Tomlinson) Kimmel, Topeka, Kansas, on February 5, 1916, as a wedding present. Handwritten note on the back of the frame confirms provenance.
Subject & Description
The mezzogravure depicts a woman in classical drapery leaning over a large pot of basil, an imagery drawn from John Keats’ 1818 poem 'Isabella; or, The Pot of Basil'. The subject became a popular theme among 19th-century painters, including Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, and Alexandre Cabanel. It reflects romanticism, loss, and devotion — themes prized by Victorian and Edwardian audiences.
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