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From Drawing to Painting: Poussin, Watteau, Fragonard, David, and Ingres
Pierre Rosenberg, the distinguished art historian and director of the Musee du Louvre, has long admired and studied both paintings and drawings. This dual interest may seem commonplace but is in fact highly unusual: specialists in the field of drawing rarely write about painting, and vice versa. From Drawing to Painting offers a unique perspective by interweaving biographical information about five renowned French artists--Nicolas Poussin, Antoine Watteau, Jean-Honore Fragonard, Jacques-Louis David, and Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres--with a fascinating look at dozens of their drawings and the links that they have to their paintings. Presenting over 260 illustrations, this book explores drawing as a site of reflection, the space between the idea of a painted image and its realization on canvas.
How, why, and for whom did these artists draw? What value did they place on their drawings? How did their drawings get handed down to us? In what way do they enable us better to understand the artists' intentions, their creative processes, and to penetrate their worlds? Rosenberg determines that each artist approached drawing in a distinctive way, reflecting his individual training, work habits, and personal ambitions. For example, Poussin viewed his drawings simply as working documents, Watteau preferred his drawings to his paintings, and Fragonard made a lucrative business selling his graphic work. For David and Ingres, drawing had a considerable pedagogical function, whether in copying the great works of their predecessors or in sharpening their own techniques.
Originally delivered as a series of Mellon Lectures at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., From Drawing to Painting gives the reader an unprecedented view of the artistic process. This richly illustrated book will make an important and beautiful addition to any art library.
How, why, and for whom did these artists draw? What value did they place on their drawings? How did their drawings get handed down to us? In what way do they enable us better to understand the artists' intentions, their creative processes, and to penetrate their worlds? Rosenberg determines that each artist approached drawing in a distinctive way, reflecting his individual training, work habits, and personal ambitions. For example, Poussin viewed his drawings simply as working documents, Watteau preferred his drawings to his paintings, and Fragonard made a lucrative business selling his graphic work. For David and Ingres, drawing had a considerable pedagogical function, whether in copying the great works of their predecessors or in sharpening their own techniques.
Originally delivered as a series of Mellon Lectures at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., From Drawing to Painting gives the reader an unprecedented view of the artistic process. This richly illustrated book will make an important and beautiful addition to any art library.
- GenresArt
280 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2000
2 people are currently reading
41 people want to read
About the author
Pierre Rosenberg
159 books2 followersBorn in Paris, April 13, 1936, Pierre Rosenberg studied at the Lycée Charlemagne in Paris, gaining a Law degree, and also graduated from the Ecole du Louvre. In 1962, he joined the Department of Paintings at the Louvre. This is where he made his career, starting as an assistant, later promoted curator of the heritage at the Department of Paintings. In October 1994, he was appointed Chief Executive of the Louvre, which had become a public institution in 1992. He left on April 13, 2001. From 1981 to 1993, he was also the curator of the National Museum of Franco-American Friendship Blérancourt.
After his Focillon scholarship at Yale University in 1961-1962, he was invited to stay at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton (1977) and at the University of Cambridge (1987) as Slade Professor. He held the chair of French painting at the Ecole du Louvre in 1970-1971. After a period as President of the French History of Art Society from 1982-1984, he was elected President of the French History of Art Committee in 1984. Since its founding in 1969, he has been part of the editorial board of the Journal Revue de l’art. He has contributed to XVIIecentury, Print Quarterly, Artibus et Historiae, Museum Management and Curatorship, the Revue du Louvre and Burlington Magazine. He is a foreign member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society (Philadelphia), the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, the Accademia Nazionale di San Luca, and the Accademia del Disegno (Florence), the Accademia Pietro Vanucci (Perugia), the Ateneo Veneto (Venice), the Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti (Venice) and Accademia Clementina (Bologna). He is also an honorary fellow at the Royal Academy (London).
His work as an art historian focussed essentially on 17th and 18th century French and Italian drawing and painting as well as on the history of collecting. He has written over two hundred articles in major journals and contributed to a publication dedicated to art historians of our time.
He was elected member of the French Academy on 7 December 1995.
After his Focillon scholarship at Yale University in 1961-1962, he was invited to stay at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton (1977) and at the University of Cambridge (1987) as Slade Professor. He held the chair of French painting at the Ecole du Louvre in 1970-1971. After a period as President of the French History of Art Society from 1982-1984, he was elected President of the French History of Art Committee in 1984. Since its founding in 1969, he has been part of the editorial board of the Journal Revue de l’art. He has contributed to XVIIecentury, Print Quarterly, Artibus et Historiae, Museum Management and Curatorship, the Revue du Louvre and Burlington Magazine. He is a foreign member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society (Philadelphia), the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, the Accademia Nazionale di San Luca, and the Accademia del Disegno (Florence), the Accademia Pietro Vanucci (Perugia), the Ateneo Veneto (Venice), the Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti (Venice) and Accademia Clementina (Bologna). He is also an honorary fellow at the Royal Academy (London).
His work as an art historian focussed essentially on 17th and 18th century French and Italian drawing and painting as well as on the history of collecting. He has written over two hundred articles in major journals and contributed to a publication dedicated to art historians of our time.
He was elected member of the French Academy on 7 December 1995.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 2, 2019
Pierre Rosenberg is an extremely accomplished scholar and art historian. When it comes to the five artists - Nicolas Poussin, Jean-Antoine Watteau, Jacques-Louis David, Jean-Honoré Fragonard, and Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres - who are the subject of From Drawing to Painting, few others are as competent to discuss their merits and faults. As co-author of the catalogues raisonné of all five artists, whom Rosenberg considers "among the greatest of French draftsmen," he possesses an exhaustive knowledge of their lives and works.
The book itself is an adaptation of a series of A.W. Mellon Lectures given at Washington's National Gallery of Art in1996. As such, the tone is informal and thankfully much less dry than one would expect of so erudite a scholar. Moreover, both the book's excellent design and the inclusion of some 230 reproductions illustrating the author's arguments make the work fully accessible to laymen, even those possessing only a rudiementary knowledge of French art.
Rather than devoting a single chapter to each artist, the author has wisely chosen in each of the six chapters to address a specific problem by discussing the work of all five artists in relation to it. Thus, while the first chapter serves as an introduction to all five, the second, entitled "The Drawings: Their Histories, Techniques, and Themes," compares the five's drawings to one another, noting the similarities and differences in styles among them. In this respect, it should be noted that the later artists were influenced, sometimes heavily, by their predecessors. At times they even made copies of one another's works. David, for example, was not only the teacher of Ingres but even found Fragonard employment at the Louvre when that artist found himself in dire straits.
Many of the issues addressed in the various chapters have applicability beyond the works of the five artists, and indeed of French art in general. One particularly fascinating essay, "On the Attribution and Dating of the Drawings," has relevance to anyone interested in the process by which works of uncertain provenance are assigned to particular artists. Forgeries, though rampant, are not the only problems faced by an author attempting a catalogue raisonné or a gallery owner preparing an exhibit. In one instance, Rosenberg goes into a great deal of detail in explaing why in compiling the catalogue raisonné of Poussin's oeuvre, he and his co-author disallowed a large number of drawings formerly attributed to that artist, most notably a series of highly admired works that once formed part of the Crozat estate.
While the book is in general remarkably successful in educating its audience - I for one greatly enjoyed reading it - there remain a few quibbles. For one thing, the title is somewhat misleading in its reference to painting. Although several paintings by the five artists are discussed, it is almost always in relation to drawings that served as prepatory studies for the final works. Throughout the book, emphasis is placed almost exclusively on the artists' drawings. This is in itself not so great a drawback as long as the unwary reader does not anticipate any in-depth analysis of the painted works.
The second problem has to do with the choice of artists. After having only last year seen the two major exhibits of Delacroix's works at the Met Museum, I find it unforgiveable that so great an artist should have been entirely omitted from consideration here. His absence seriously skews the study of the remaining five. The famous rivalry between Delacroix and Ingres, for example, was representative of the conflict between Romanticism and neo-Classicism for ascendancy in nineteenth century French art. Rosenberg himself is aware of the problem. In the introduction he writes:
"Delacroix, I confess, does not inspire me. I acknowledge his genius but it holds no attraction for me, and I do not understand him well (can we understand what we do not really appreciate?)."
An art historian, of course, is as entitled to his likes and dislikes as any layman. Such a blatant disregard for one of the greatest French artists, however, cannot help but call into question the author's objectivity.
A final concern is the quality of the reproductions, Though as noted above there are copious illustrations in every chapter, they are unfortunately all in monochrome. Any consideration of the artists' use of color is thereby rendered moot. This is hardly a minor point.
The book itself is an adaptation of a series of A.W. Mellon Lectures given at Washington's National Gallery of Art in1996. As such, the tone is informal and thankfully much less dry than one would expect of so erudite a scholar. Moreover, both the book's excellent design and the inclusion of some 230 reproductions illustrating the author's arguments make the work fully accessible to laymen, even those possessing only a rudiementary knowledge of French art.
Rather than devoting a single chapter to each artist, the author has wisely chosen in each of the six chapters to address a specific problem by discussing the work of all five artists in relation to it. Thus, while the first chapter serves as an introduction to all five, the second, entitled "The Drawings: Their Histories, Techniques, and Themes," compares the five's drawings to one another, noting the similarities and differences in styles among them. In this respect, it should be noted that the later artists were influenced, sometimes heavily, by their predecessors. At times they even made copies of one another's works. David, for example, was not only the teacher of Ingres but even found Fragonard employment at the Louvre when that artist found himself in dire straits.
Many of the issues addressed in the various chapters have applicability beyond the works of the five artists, and indeed of French art in general. One particularly fascinating essay, "On the Attribution and Dating of the Drawings," has relevance to anyone interested in the process by which works of uncertain provenance are assigned to particular artists. Forgeries, though rampant, are not the only problems faced by an author attempting a catalogue raisonné or a gallery owner preparing an exhibit. In one instance, Rosenberg goes into a great deal of detail in explaing why in compiling the catalogue raisonné of Poussin's oeuvre, he and his co-author disallowed a large number of drawings formerly attributed to that artist, most notably a series of highly admired works that once formed part of the Crozat estate.
While the book is in general remarkably successful in educating its audience - I for one greatly enjoyed reading it - there remain a few quibbles. For one thing, the title is somewhat misleading in its reference to painting. Although several paintings by the five artists are discussed, it is almost always in relation to drawings that served as prepatory studies for the final works. Throughout the book, emphasis is placed almost exclusively on the artists' drawings. This is in itself not so great a drawback as long as the unwary reader does not anticipate any in-depth analysis of the painted works.
The second problem has to do with the choice of artists. After having only last year seen the two major exhibits of Delacroix's works at the Met Museum, I find it unforgiveable that so great an artist should have been entirely omitted from consideration here. His absence seriously skews the study of the remaining five. The famous rivalry between Delacroix and Ingres, for example, was representative of the conflict between Romanticism and neo-Classicism for ascendancy in nineteenth century French art. Rosenberg himself is aware of the problem. In the introduction he writes:
"Delacroix, I confess, does not inspire me. I acknowledge his genius but it holds no attraction for me, and I do not understand him well (can we understand what we do not really appreciate?)."
An art historian, of course, is as entitled to his likes and dislikes as any layman. Such a blatant disregard for one of the greatest French artists, however, cannot help but call into question the author's objectivity.
A final concern is the quality of the reproductions, Though as noted above there are copious illustrations in every chapter, they are unfortunately all in monochrome. Any consideration of the artists' use of color is thereby rendered moot. This is hardly a minor point.
June 14, 2024
"Drawings, infinitely superior to prints, occupy a level exactly between
them and paintings; these are the first ideas of a painter, the first fire of
his imagination, his style, his spirit, his way of thinking. . . . Drawings
demonstrate the artist's fecundity, the liveliness of his genius, his nobility,
the level of his sentiments, and the facility with which he expresses
them."5
chapter 3 is the standout
them and paintings; these are the first ideas of a painter, the first fire of
his imagination, his style, his spirit, his way of thinking. . . . Drawings
demonstrate the artist's fecundity, the liveliness of his genius, his nobility,
the level of his sentiments, and the facility with which he expresses
them."5
chapter 3 is the standout
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews