Eighteenth-Century French Drawings in New York Collections

"The first dream, the first germ, the first conception" was how in 1894 the renowned connoisseur Philippe de Chennevières, whose celebrated collection of drawings numbered in the thousands, chose to describe the essence and appeal of this medium. For this nineteenth-century French aesthete, only a small number of refined individuals had a true appreciation of these highly personal jottings and studies. Since his time, however, the ranks of connoisseurs of eighteenth-century French drawings have grown steadily, not only in France but in the United States as well.  The Enlightenment in France was marked by progress and innovation in virtually every area of intellectual and artistic endeavor. With the influential writings of Voltaire and Rousseau and the political challenges that led to the overthrow of the Bourbon monarchy and the founding of the French Republic, the eighteenth century is often seen as laying the foundations of the modern era. The far-reaching intellectual and cultural aspirations of the eighteenth century found one form of expression in the draftsmanship of the age. In a period that valued inspiration over rote, drawingperhaps more than any other artistic mediumembodied the creative impulse. Painters, sculptors, and printmakers were attracted to the medium of drawing, not just for its practical utility but as a vehicle for the expression of individual genius.  Arranged chronologically and thematically, Eighteenth-Century French Drawings in New York Collections traces the expansion of the Rococo style through the accomplishments of its most brilliant practitioners and through its gradual displacement by the more spartan Neoclassical idiom, which accelerated during the political upheaval of the Revolution and its aftermath. An intimate window into the creative process, the medium of drawing in the eighteenth century gained a devoted following of connoisseurs who began to collect, document, and treasure the graphic output of their contemporaries, a pursuit carried on through the centuries and continued with enthusiasm by public institutions and private collectors in New York today. This volume, and the exhibition for which it serves as the catalogue, attempt to strike a balance between a broad representation of the acknowledged masters of the period—Watteau, Boucher, Natoire, Fragonard, Robert, Greuzeand talented but lesser-known artists, including Doyen, Drouais, and Isabey. The one hundred sheets included, many of them previously unpublished, present a broad range of subjectsfrom genre, still life, and portraiture to studies for history paintingand are drawn from the holdings of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Pierpont Morgan Library, Cooper-Hewitt Museum (Smithsonian Institution), The Frick Collection, and twenty-seven private collections. [This book was originally published in 1999 and has gone out of print. This edition is a print-on-demand version of the original book.]

Arts & Photography

Holmes, Mary Tavener

Stein, Perrin

History & Criticism

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Early European art was a consuming interest of both Robert Lehman and his father, Philip Lehman, an interest reflected in the remarkable number and quality of drawings they owned from the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. In addition to an important group of early German drawings, the collection includes a Saint Paul from a series associated with Jan van Eyck and the famous Scupstoel from the circle of Rogier van der Weyden, the only design for a decorative sculpture to survive from the fifteenth century. The great artists of the seventeenth century, Peter Paul Rubens, Jacob Jordaens, Claude Lorrain, and Rembrandt among them, are also represented, Rembrandt by seven drawings, including the large study of Leonardo's Last Supper that would stay in his mind all through his career, whenever he depicted groups of figures conversing with each other. Drawings by Antoine Watteau, Jean-Honoré Fragonard, and Gabriel de Saint-Aubin are among the many from eighteenth-century France.
 This volume is the ninth to be published in a projected series of sixteen that will catalogue the entire Robert Lehman Collection at the Metropolitan Museum. It discusses all 140 drawings at length, placing each in its art historical setting and complementing the discussion with comparative illustrations of related works.

Fifteenth- to Eighteenth-Century European Drawings in the the Robert Lehman Collection, Vol. 7: Central Europe, The Netherlands, France, England

Robinson, Duncan

Posner, Donald

Haverkamp-Begemann, Egbert

KORENY, Fritz

Metropolitan Museum of Art; Princeton UP

Imagine a giraffe that can sail from Alexandria, Egypt, to Marseille, France, in a boat with a special hole for her neck. Imagine a giraffe that can walk from Marseille to Paris in forty-one days, wearing stylish boots and a cape. Imagine a giraffe that captures the attention of a hundred thousand spectators in Paris as she parades through the city, inspiring paintings, poetry, porcelain designs, and even an exotic hairstyle. Imagine Belle, a gift from the pasha of Egypt to the king of France in 1827, a giraffe who made history. This book presents Belle’s true story, told in the imagined words of her devoted Sudanese caretaker, Atir, who accompanied her on her journey to Paris and stayed with her till her death eighteen years later. Illustrated with artifacts and paintings from the nineteenth century and with Jon Cannell’s jaunty artwork, Belle’s remarkable story both captivates and informs. An author’s note and pronunciation guide are included.

A Giraffe Goes to Paris

Children's Books

Harris, John.

Animals

Two Lions

The Elephant from Baghdad

Who would have thought that the emperor Charlemagne would make friends with an albino elephant, a gift from the caliph of Baghdad? Told from the fictionalized point of view of a monk who set down the actual story in 883 884 CE, the book follows the elephant's journey through Egypt, across the Mediterranean to Italy and across the Alps to Germany. When the elephant finally reaches his destination, Charlemagne is so delighted with his exotic new pet that he introduces him to his many children and bathes with him in the hot springs near his palace. When the elephant dies of old age, the emperor is heartbroken. Jon Cannell invigorates his charming mixed-media artwork with artifacts, paintings, and sculpture from earlier centuries. An Author's Note about the origins of the story and the remarkable water clock carried by the elephant is included.

This volume investigates many of the finest works of Lancret with color illustrations of his drawings and paintings and a long essay which places Lancret in the context of his time and differentiates his work from his contemporaries.

Nicolas Lancret, 1690-1743

H.N. Abrams in association with the Frick Collection

Nicholas Lancret 1690-1743

Harry N.Abrams, Inc.

This catalogue was published in conjunction with the exhibition "Eighteenth-Century French Drawings in New York Collections" held at the Metropolitan Museum in February, 1999. Arranged chronologically and thematically, it traces the expansion of the Rococo style through the accomplishments of its most brilliant practitioners and through its gradual displacement by the more spartan Neoclassical idiom which accelerated during the French Revolution and its aftermath. One hundred ten colorplates, 129 b&amp;w illustrations, and commentary present not only acknowledged masters of the period but talented and lesser known artists. Oversize: 9.5x12

Metropolitan Museum Of Art (new York, N.y.)

Collections, Catalogs & Exhibitions

Who would have thought that the emperor Charlemagne would make friends with an albino elephant, a gift from the caliph of Baghdad? Told from the fictionalized point of view of a monk who set down the actual story in 883-884 CE, the book follows the elephant's journey through Egypt, across the Mediterranean to Italy and across the Alps to Germany. When the elephant finally reaches his destination, Charlemagne is so delighted with his exotic new pet that he introduces him to his many children and bathes with him in the hot springs near his palace. When the elephant dies of old age, the emperor is heartbroken. Jon Cannell invigorates his charming mixed-media artwork with artifacts, paintings, and sculpture from earlier centuries. An author's note about the origins of the story and the remarkable water clock carried by the elephant is included.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Holmes, Mary Tavener. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Holmes, Mary Tavener

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Holmes, Mary Tavener. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Eighteenth-Century French Drawings in New York Collections

Fifteenth- to Eighteenth-Century European Drawings in the the Robert Lehman Collection, Vol. 7: Central Europe, The Netherlands, France, England

A Giraffe Goes to Paris

The Elephant from Baghdad

Nicolas Lancret, 1690-1743

Nicholas Lancret 1690-1743

Eighteenth-Century French Drawings in New York Collections

Eighteenth-Century French Drawings in New York Collections

A Giraffe Goes to Paris

The Elephant from Baghdad