Burnt Out

1849

Charles F. Blauvelt American, 1824 - 1900

On View

American, Level 2, West Wing

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Catalogue Raisonné

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Credit Line for Reproduction

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About the Artwork

Disaster has struck. A woman and her two children huddle together with their meager belongings — a cracked mirror, a broken candle, a smashed jug. Only the Bible in her basket appears intact, suggesting the strength of her faith in the midst of adversity.
When Charles F. Blauvelt completed the painting in 1849, viewers would have recognized the faceted post in the foreground as a fire hydrant. In the distance, a man carrying a flaming torch leads a company of firemen pulling a water pump. It is night, but the woman’s face is illuminated by flames from her burning home.
Where is her husband, the father of her children? His absence suggests that the woman must work to support her family. Undeterred by the loss of most of her material goods, she heroically shelters and protects her children, her most precious possessions.

Title Burnt Out

Artwork Date 1849

Artist Charles F. Blauvelt

Life Dates 1824 - 1900

Nationality Please note: Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events. Some definitions include: Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation. American

Culture Please note: Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group. ----------

Medium Oil on canvas

Dimensions Overall: 30 × 25 1/4 inches (76.2 × 64.1 cm)

Classification Paintings

Department American Art before 1950

Credit Museum Purchase, Beatrice W. Rogers Fund, and Mr. and Mrs. Conrad H. Smith Memorial Fund

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. 2007.2

Markings

Signed Signed, lower left: C.F. Blauvelt

Provenance

2007-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

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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.

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Published References

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Catalogue Raisoneé

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Credit Line for Reproduction

Charles F. Blauvelt, Burnt Out, 1849, oil on canvas. Detroit Institute of Arts, Museum Purchase, Beatrice W. Rogers Fund, and Mr. and Mrs. Conrad H. Smith Memorial Fund, 2007.2.