Special Online Exhibition Preview
Presents
Promenades on Paper:
Eighteenth-Century French Drawings
from the Bibliothèque nationale de France
Promenades on Paper: Eighteenth-Century French Drawings from the Bibliothèque nationale de France
In eighteenth-century France, drawing's popularity as both a social practice and autonomous mode of creation soared. The vast trove of drawings held at the historic Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF) reveals the medium's emergence as a dynamic tool through which artists, architects, and even amateurs could document and shape the world around them. The eighty-four studies, sketchbooks, albums, diagrams, portraits, prints, and optical devices on view in this exhibition give a sweeping overview of drawing's uses. They also provide a panorama of French life in vivid color and rich detail. As encyclopedic in scope as the library that houses them, the selected drawings span the domains of natural history, landscape, current events, royal ornament, antiquity, visionary architecture, and much more.
Alongside sheets by little-known artists are works by draftsmen such as François Boucher, Jean-Jacques Lequeu, Louis-Étienne Boullée, and Gabriel de Saint-Aubin. Coursing through the exhibition is the theme of the promenade, or stroll, an activity that became tied to the pleasures of observation and spectatorship in France in the eighteenth century.
Visit the comprehensive microsite (https://www.clarkart.edu/BnF) that provides a selection of images, audio files, and detailed text related to the exhibition.
All images & information are provided courtesy of the Clark Art Institute.
Clark Art Institute
225 South Street, Williamstown, MA 01267
Madeleine Françoise Basseporte
Hyacinth and Narcissus, Mid-18th century
Gouache on vellum
11 1/4 x 11 5/8 in.
Bibliothèque nationale de France
RÉSERVE JD-33-PET FOL
Jean-Baptiste Chevillion
Miniature Carriage, 1740-50
Pen and black ink, brush and gray, brown, yellow, blue, and red wash, over black chalk
14 3/8 x 14 3/4 in.
Bibliothèque nationale de France
RÉSERVE HD-64-FT 4
Étienne-Louis Boullée
Cross Section of Newton's Cenotaph, 1784
Pen and black ink, brush and gray wash
15 3/4 x 26 in.
Bibliothèque nationale de France
RÉSERVE HA-57-BOÎTE FT 4, ESTNUM-35899, PLANCHE NO. 8
Visit the exhibition at the Clark now through March 12, 2023.
Charles-Antoine Coypel
History Stopping Time, c. 1725-26
Graphite, pen and black ink, red chalk, brush and gray wash, heightened with white
16 3/8 x 11 5/8 in.
Bibliothèque nationale de France
RÉSERVE B-6 (E, 7)-BOÎTE FOL
Jean-Jacques Lequeu
Heads of Little Tawny Owls from Cayenne, before 1825
Pen and black ink, brush and gray wash
11 5/8 x 7 3/8 in.
Bibliothèque nationale de France
RÉSERVE HA-80 (C, 8)-FOL
Gabriel de Saint-Aubin
The May Exhibition, 1769
Pen and black ink, watercolor, on parchment
3 7/8 x 4 ¾ in.
Bibliothèque nationale de France
RÉSERVE VE-53 (H)-FOL,
COLLECTION DESTAILLEUR, 1062
An illustrated exploration of the largely unpublished collection of eighteenth-century French drawings, albums, and sketchbooks at the Bibliothèque nationale de France, the catalogue is edited by Esther Bell, Sarah Grandin, Corinne Le Bitouzé and Anne Leonard.
Order your copy from Yale University Press.
Anne-Louis Girodet
Celeste Coltellini Drawing from Italian Sketchbook, 1790-95
Red and black chalk
5 ½ x 9 in.
Bibliothèque nationale de France
RÉSERVE DC-48 (C)-4
Promenades on Paper: Eighteenth-Century French Drawings from the Bibliothèque nationale de France is co-organized by the Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, Massachusetts, and the Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris. It is curated by Esther Bell, Deputy Director and Robert and Martha Berman Lipp Chief Curator; Sarah Grandin, Clark-Getty Curatorial Fellow; and Anne Leonard, Manton Curator of Prints, Drawings, and Photographs from the Clark, and by Corinne Le Bitouzé, Conservateur général; Pauline Chougnet, Conservateur en charge des dessins; and Chloé Perrot, Conservateur des bibliothèques from the Bibliothèque nationale.
This exhibition is made possible by Jessie and Charles Price. Major funding is provided by Elizabeth M. and Jean-Marie Eveillard, the Getty Foundation through its Paper Project initiative, and the Samuel H. Kress Foundation. The exhibition catalogue is made possible by Denise Littlefield Sobel.
Visit the comprehensive microsite to learn more. Please look for display copies of the exhibition catalogue at at the following galleries during MDNY 2023: Jill Newhouse Gallery, Didier Aaron, and W. M. Brady in association with Nicholas Hall.
Thank you for visiting the Special Online Exhibition Preview from the Clark Art Institute.
All images & information were provided courtesy of the Clark Art Institute.
Clark Art Institute
225 South Street, Williamstown, MA 01267
