Absent-minded Observor

1766

Frans van Mieris, Artist Johann Georg Wille, Artist

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About the Artwork

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Markings

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Provenance

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Catalogue Raisonné

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Credit Line for Reproduction

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About the Artwork

Title Absent-minded Observor

Artwork Date 1766

Makers Frans van Mieris (Artist) Dutch, 1635-1681 Johann Georg Wille (Artist) German, 1715-1808

Medium Engraving printed in black ink on laid paper

Dimensions Plate: 11 3/8 × 8 7/8 inches (28.9 × 22.5 cm) Sheet: 12 3/8 × 9 7/8 inches (31.4 × 25.1 cm)

Classification Prints

Department Prints, Drawings & Photographs

Credit Gift of Mrs. James E. Scripps

Accession Number This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection. Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings. For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups. 09.1S1263

Markings

Inscriptions Inscribed, in plate, below image, lower right: Gravé par J. G. Wille Graveur du Roi. 1766. Inscribed, lower center: L'OBSERVATEUR DISTRAIT. Inscribed, lower left: Peint par F. Mieris Inscribed, lower center: Dédié a Monsieur Vincent Lienau | Négociant à Bordeaux. Inscribed, lower left of plate: D'après le Tableau Original qui est dans le Cabinet de M. de Peters, Peintre | der S. A. R. le Prince Charles der Lorraine, Gouveneur des Pays Bas. ( ). Inscribed, lower right: Par son Ami et serviteur | Wille. Inscribed, lower edge of plate: a Paris chez l'Auteur Quay des Augustins.

Provenance

August 1885, N.C. Perkins.
Mrs. James E. Scripps (Detroit, Michigan, USA);
1909-present, gift to the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

For more information on provenance, please visit:

Provenance page

Exhibition History

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The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.

We welcome your feedback for correction and/or improvement.

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Published References

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We regularly update our object record as new research and findings emerge, and we welcome your feedback for correction and/or improvement.

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Catalogue Raisoneé

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Credit Line for Reproduction

Johann Georg Wille; after Frans van Mieris, Absent-minded Observor, 1766, engraving printed in black ink on laid paper. Detroit Institute of Arts, Gift of Mrs. James E. Scripps, 09.1S1263.