Jesters Playing "Cochonnet" - Bilbao Fine Arts Museum

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Jesters Playing “Cochonnet”

Zamacois, Eduardo

Bilbao, 02/07/1841-Madrid, 12/01/1871

Oil on panel

46 x 35.6 cm

Eº ZAMACOÏS. (bottom left hand corner)

1868

Last quarter of the 19th century

03/39

Acquired in 2003

In 1866 Zamacois began to portray the jesters at the court of the French king Henry III (1551-1589) at play or leisure. In this case the jesters are playing cochonnet, a French game played in pairs in which a smaller ball (the cochonnet or piglet) is thrown out as a target, followed by other different coloured boules that are supposed to land as close as possible to it. In a motley composition, the jesters-whose mission was to entertain-have left their belongings and appear idle while they dispute in a carefree manner over which boule got the closest and therefore is the winner. The social and physical conditions of the characters are treated by Zamacois from a humane point of view, in accordance with the examples of dwarves and court jesters in 17th-century Spanish painting. The prominence of commonplace features is highlighted by the contrast between the idea of transcendence, represented by the historical relief of the background, and the triviality of the game practiced by the jesters.

Having settled early in Paris, in 1861 Zamacois entered the workshop of Ernest Meissonier, where he learnt to paint with a studied preciosity. By capturing everyday scenes from the past in his little pictures, often presenting them in a humorous fashion, he managed to distance himself from the prevailing trend of history painting that evoked great events. The international admiration and curiosity aroused by his works in the mid-19th century was basically the result of the originality of his themes and his refined finishes, that made him stand out against dozens of skilled genre painters. Moreover, his contract with the dealer Adolphe Goupil and his links with artists and intellectuals of his age brought him artistic success and renown. (Javier Novo González)

Selected bibliography

Cavaliers and Cardinals : Nineteenth-Century French Anecdotal Paintings [Cat. exp.]. Cincinnati, Taft Museum, 1992. pp. 23, 150-151, n° cat. 64.
Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao : guía. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2006. pp. 102-103.
Musée des Beaux Arts de Bilbao : guide. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2006. pp. 102-103.
Bilbao Fine Arts Museum : guide. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2006. pp. 102-103.
De Goya a Gauguin : el siglo XIX en el Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao [Cat. exp.]. Salamanca, Caja Duero, 2006. pp. 142-143, n° cat. 31.
De Goya a Gauguin : el siglo XIX en el Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao [Cat. exp.]. Valencia, Consorci de Museus de la Comunitat Valenciana ; Caja Duero, 2006. pp. 142-143, n° cat. 31.
Zamacois, Fortuny, Meissonier [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2006. pp.146-147, n° cat. 26.
De Goya a Gauguin : el siglo XIX en el Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao [Cat. exp.]. Salamanca, Caja Duero, 2007. pp. 142-143, n° cat. 31.
Adquisiciones 02/07 [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2007. pp. 32-33, n° cat. 7.
Guía Artistas Vascos. Bilbao, Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2008. p. 26.
De Goya a Gauguin : el siglo XIX en el Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2008. pp. 278-280, n° cat. 49.
Gida Euskal Artistak. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Eder Museoa, 2008. p. 26.
Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao : guía. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2011. pp. 102-103, n° cat. 71a.
Guide Basque Artists. Bilbao, Bilbao Fine Arts Museum, 2012. pp. 26-27, n° cat. 9a.
Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa : gida. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2012. pp. 102-103, n° cat. 71a.
Bilbao Fine Arts Museum : guide. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2014. pp. 102-103.
Musée des Beaux Arts de Bilbao : guide. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2014. pp. 102-103.
Maestros : Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao . Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2016. pp. 74-75, il.
Maisuak : Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2016. pp. 74-75, il.
Masters : Bilbao Fine Arts Museum. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2016. pp. 74-75, il.
Maîtres : Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bilbao. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2016. pp. 74-75, il.
110 Años 110 Obras [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2018. pp. 152-153, sin n° cat.
110 Ans 110 Oeuvres [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2018. pp. 152-153, sin n° cat.
110 Urte 110 Artelan [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2018. pp. 152-153, sin n° cat.
110 Years 110 Works [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2018. pp. 152-153, sin n° cat.
Le Joker : un fou au pays des cartes [Cat. exp.]. Paris, Face & Dos ; Éditions de Tournon, 2021. pp. 40-41, il.