Robert Nicolas-Charles Bochsa, the Harpist

Date1837

Artist Peter Copmann (Danish, 1794 - 1850)

MediumOil on canvas

DimensionsOH: 36 1/4 in.; OW: 30 in.

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number2017-292,A&C

DescriptionPortrait of a man standing with his left arm resting on a harp. In his left hand he holds rolled up sheet music. He is wearing a black jacket with a purple-grey waistcoat and white shirt accessorized with a black stock and gold stickpin. There is a red drape in the upper left corner of the green-brown background.
Label TextAcclaimed harpist Robert Nicholas-Charles Bochsa performed off and on in North America and Europe during the 1830s and 1840s. In 1837, while in New Orleans, Louisiana, he sat for acclaimed artist Peter Copmann, a Danish immigrant. Bochsa is shown with his arm resting on his harp, and a rolled score, likely his own composition, in his hand.

InscribedSigned in lower right, "By P Copmann/ 1837"
ProvenanceDr. Isaac M. Cline, gift to the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts; sold at Neal Auctions, July 9, 2017 to Colonial Williamsburg Foundation

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