# Inspiration

**Gustave Moreau** (French, 1826–1898)  
c. 1893  
Watercolor and gouache, with pen and blue ink, over traces of graphite, on ivory wove paper, wrapped and adhered on verso to wood pulp board  
29.9 × 23 cm (11 13/16 × 9 1/16 in.)

Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago, 1985.596. [The museum's record](https://www.artic.edu/artworks/104463).

## About this work

Gustave Moreau painted this in about 1893, aged about 57. It is now at the Art Institute of Chicago.

### What you’re looking at

A work made of watercolor and gouache, with pen and blue ink, over traces of graphite, on ivory wove paper, wrapped and adhered on verso to wood pulp board.

_Description from the Art Institute of Chicago._

### How it was made

- **Opaque watercolour.** Watercolour made opaque with white or chalk and laid in flat, even layers. Persian and Indian painters ground their colours from minerals, applied them with the finest brushes and burnished the finished page.
- **Watercolour.** Pigment in gum arabic, thinned with water and laid in transparent washes. Nothing white is painted: the light is the paper showing through.
- **Graphite.** Pencil. Graphite has been used for drawing since the 1500s; in 1795 Nicolas-Jacques Conté mixed it with clay, so its hardness could be graded.

### [Gustave Moreau](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/gustave-moreau)

French, 1826–1898; born in Paris; died in Paris

## Facts

- Type: Drawing and Watercolor
- Culture: France
- The artist was about 57
- Real size: about 11 × 9 in (29 × 23 cm). The 8 × 10 in print is close to life size.
- Century: 19th century
- Subjects: mysteries/fantasies, plaid
- Colour: brown
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/264.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/264/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68; 20 × 30 in $86; 24 × 36 in $108; 30 × 40 in $148
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164; 20 × 30 in $208; 24 × 36 in $258; 30 × 40 in $338
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118; 20 × 30 in $148; 24 × 36 in $178; 30 × 40 in $228
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3; 20 × 30 in $5; 24 × 36 in $5; 30 × 40 in $5

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/inspiration-aic-104463).