Description
Armand Désire GAUTIER (1825-1894) La folle de la Salpêtrière Paper mounted on canvas. Annotated lower right La folle de la Salpêtrière. 26 x 20.6 cm Armand Gautier was Gustave Courbet's most loyal friend, with whom he shared a quest for realism and an interest in modern, societal subjects. In Paris in the early 1850s, he befriended his fellow Lille medical student, Paul Gachet. Gachet, who was to become a patron of the Impressionists and welcomed Cézanne and van Gogh to his home in Auvers-sur-Oise, was an intern at the Salpêtrière in 1854 in the department of Dr. Falret, who granted Gautier "?permission to carry out numerous studies, such as Une Gâteuse, Une Mégalomane, Une princesse à la Salpêtrière?" (exhibition catalog Armand Gautier 1825-1894. Une amitié à la Courbet, Ornans, Musée Courbet, 2004, p. 29). These studies paved the way for a large-format work, Les Folles de la Salpêtrière, which was rejected at the Salon of 1854; lost, its composition is known from an engraving. Founded in 1656 as a hospice for homeless women, the Salpêtrière hospital in Paris underwent significant changes over the centuries. In the 18th century, the visionary physician Philippe Pinel (1745-1826) instituted major reforms in the establishment's approach to treating mental disorders, such as the abolition of patient shackling. Then, in the 19th century, the renowned Jean-Martin Charcot (1825-1893) took over the reins of the neurology department, devoting himself to the study of hysteria in women. The years 1870-1920 were marked by Charcot's extensive research into hysteria, frequently involving women dubbed the "madwomen of the Salpêtrière". This period was marked by significant advances in the understanding of mental health, but it was also punctuated by controversial medical practices and the stigma associated with mental disorders. These women were regularly exhibited in clinical demonstrations, sometimes in front of an audience, with the aim of displaying the symptoms of hysteria. At the end of the 19th century, a notorious ball was held annually at the hospital, known as the "bal des folles". The event attracted numerous celebrities, attracting the attention of the Parisian press.
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Armand Désire GAUTIER (1825-1894) La folle de la Salpêtrière Paper mounted on canvas. Annotated lower right La folle de la Salpêtrière. 26 x 20.6 cm Armand Gautier was Gustave Courbet's most loyal friend, with whom he shared a quest for realism and an interest in modern, societal subjects. In Paris in the early 1850s, he befriended his fellow Lille medical student, Paul Gachet. Gachet, who was to become a patron of the Impressionists and welcomed Cézanne and van Gogh to his home in Auvers-sur-Oise, was an intern at the Salpêtrière in 1854 in the department of Dr. Falret, who granted Gautier "?permission to carry out numerous studies, such as Une Gâteuse, Une Mégalomane, Une princesse à la Salpêtrière?" (exhibition catalog Armand Gautier 1825-1894. Une amitié à la Courbet, Ornans, Musée Courbet, 2004, p. 29). These studies paved the way for a large-format work, Les Folles de la Salpêtrière, which was rejected at the Salon of 1854; lost, its composition is known from an engraving. Founded in 1656 as a hospice for homeless women, the Salpêtrière hospital in Paris underwent significant changes over the centuries. In the 18th century, the visionary physician Philippe Pinel (1745-1826) instituted major reforms in the establishment's approach to treating mental disorders, such as the abolition of patient shackling. Then, in the 19th century, the renowned Jean-Martin Charcot (1825-1893) took over the reins of the neurology department, devoting himself to the study of hysteria in women. The years 1870-1920 were marked by Charcot's extensive research into hysteria, frequently involving women dubbed the "madwomen of the Salpêtrière". This period was marked by significant advances in the understanding of mental health, but it was also punctuated by controversial medical practices and the stigma associated with mental disorders. These women were regularly exhibited in clinical demonstrations, sometimes in front of an audience, with the aim of displaying the symptoms of hysteria. At the end of the 19th century, a notorious ball was held annually at the hospital, known as the "bal des folles". The event attracted numerous celebrities, attracting the attention of the Parisian press.
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