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French Drawings from the Age of Claude, Poussin, Watteau, and Fragonard: Highlights from the Collection of the Harvard Art Museums

This book cover features a drawing of six head studies of young women and men portrayed in various angles and profiles in a semi-circle around.

$ 65.00

A showcase of the finest examples from the Harvard Art Museums’ renowned collection of 16th- to 18th-century French drawings, including numerous works by undisputed masters of the medium

By Alvin L. Clark, Jr., with an introduction by Edouard Kopp

Publication date:  November 2022

ISBN: 9780300250916
356 pages; 9 × 12 in.
377 color + b/w illustrations
Hardcover (paper over board)

Published by Harvard Art Museums
Distributed by Yale University Press


The Harvard Art Museums house one of the most significant collections of works on paper in North America. Among its many strengths are sheets by draftsmen of the French school, including notable masters such as Simon Vouet, Claude Lorrain, Nicolas Poussin, Jean-Antoine Watteau, François Boucher, Jean-Baptiste Greuze, and Jean-Honoré Fragonard. Following an introductory essay that charts the formation of this group of drawings, this catalogue provides thorough entries on more than 100 outstanding examples from the 16th to 18th century that encompass a range of genres and motifs—from landscapes and figure studies to historical and mythological scenes—many of which were produced for major commissions or mark key moments in the development of style and taste in early modern France. Alvin L. Clark, Jr., marshals his decades-long engagement with these works, pairing a discerning eye with perceptive readings that deepen our understanding of the drawings and their makers.

Alvin L. Clark, Jr., is curator of the Horvitz Collection and the Jeffrey E. Horvitz Research Curator, emeritus, at the Harvard Art Museums. Edouard Kopp is the John R. Eckel, Jr., Foundation Chief Curator at the Menil Drawing Institute and former Maida and George Abrams Curator of Drawings at the Harvard Art Museums. 

Explore the museums’ comprehensive drawings collection through a series of videos on the Drawings at Harvard Vimeo channel. Drawings from the Age of Bruegel, Rubens, and Rembrandt: The Complete Collection Online is a digital resource that focuses on the drawings in the collection by Netherlandish, Dutch, and Flemish artists dating from the 15th century to around 1800. This online collection complements the 2016 print catalogue Drawings from the Age of Bruegel, Rubens, and Rembrandt: Highlights from the Collection of the Harvard Art Museums.

 

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