The Drawing Lesson

1777

François-André Vincent

Associated Names
François-André Vincent

Artist, French, 1746 - 1816

The image depicts two individuals shown from the waist up. The person on the left is seated, leaning slightly towards the other person, who is on their right. This person has an elegantly styled hairstyle, with curls framing their face and gathered at the back. They are wearing a voluminous, ruffled garment that appears to be a dress. The other person to the right is slightly leaning in, appearing to speak closely to the first person. This individual also has wavy, slightly longer hair swept back and is dressed in a loose-fitting, billowy shirt. Both individuals are sharing the seat of an ornately carved chair with floral patterns on its backrest. The first person has a gentle, serene expression while the second person's face is partially obscured. In the surroundings, soft edges and muted tones suggest an intimate atmosphere.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    brush and brown wash over graphite on cream laid paper, laid down, with a framing line in brown ink

  • Credit Line

    Anonymous Partial and Promised Gift

  • Dimensions

    sheet: 32.5 x 37.7 cm (12 13/16 x 14 13/16 in.)
    overall (framed): 57.2 x 61.6 cm (22 1/2 x 24 1/4 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2000.99.1

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Paul Cailleux, Paris (stamp at lower right, not in Lugt), and by descent; Hazlitt, Gooden & Fox, London, 1997; private collection; Hazlitt, Gooden & Fox, London, 2000; Private collection; partial and promised gift.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1947

  • La Suède et Paris, Musée Carnavalet, Paris, 1947, no. 533 ("on deposit at the Institut Tessin, Paris").

1950

  • French Master Drawings of the 18th Century, Matthiesen Gallery, London, 1950, no. 88.

1951

  • Le dessin français de Watteau à Prud'hon, Galerie Cailleux, Paris, 1951, no. 147.

2000

  • Art for the Nation:Collecting for a New Century, NGA, Washington, D.C., 2000, 194-195.

2007

  • Private Treasures: Four Centuries of European Master Drawings, The Morgan Library and Museum, New York, and National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 2007, no. 65 (entry by Margaret Morgan Grasselli).

2009

  • Renaissance to Revolution: French Drawings from the National Gallery of Art, 1500-1800. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2009, 230-231, 289, no. 100 (color).

2012

  • Drawn to Excellence: Renaissance to Romantic Drawings from a Private Collection. Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton, MA, and Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 2012, 14, 78, no. 74 (not reprod.).

Bibliography

1948

  • Lundberg, Gunnar W. "La Suède et Paris," Konsthistorisk Tidskrift 17, nos. 2-3, October 1948, 63, fig. 30.

1949

  • Sutton, Denys. French Drawings of the 18th Century. London, 1949: 60, pl. LVI.

1952

  • Boucher, François. Le dessin français au XVIIIe siècle. Lausanne, 1952: xviii, 178, pl. 123.

1983

  • Cuzin, Jean-Pierre. "De Fragonard à Vincent." Bulletin de la Société de l'Histoire de l'Art français, Année 1981 1983: 107, 109, fig. 8.

1987

  • Roland Michel, Marianne. Le dessin français au XVIIIe siècle. Fribourg, 1987: 27, 106, fig. 36.

1988

  • Cuzin, Jean-Pierre. François-André Vincent, 1746-1816. Paris, 1988: no. 27.

1990

  • J. H. Fragonard et H. Robert a Roma. Exh. cat. Villa Medici, Rome, 1990-1991: under no. 170, fig. 170a.

2010

  • Stein, Perrin. "French Drawings, Washington," The Burlington Magazine 102 (January 2010): 66.

Inscriptions

by the artist at lower left in brown ink: Vincent 1777.

Wikidata ID

Q64569772

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