Félix Bracquemond

One of the most gratifying aspects of building a collection is to find works of art that make connections across different media. The connections may be purely visual, or perhaps technical, historical, or even personal. This plate designed by Felix Bracquemond was an obvious candidate for acquisition because several prints by Bracquemond are already in RISD's holdings, including his famous portrait of Edmond de Goncourt, a leading collector of Japanese art in France in the 1870s. Bracquemond's design for this plate is based on his own studies of Japanese woodblock prints, another area of strength of the Museum's collection. Finally, Bracquemond's "Rousseau Service" was a major milestone of the Art Nouveau style in Europe, which makes this plate valuable for both teaching and display. The funds to purchase it were provided by a former director of the Museum in honor of a former registrar.