French Drawings

As the empty bag over his left shoulder suggests, this young lay brother of the Discalced Carmelite order is setting out to collect alms. Watteau first outlined the figure in red chalk before working up the contours in red and black, using both chalks as well as the neutral tone of the paper to suggest the various layers and folds of the friar's woolen habit, as well as the light falling across his downcast eyes and double chin.

As a history painter, Natoire was obliged to instruct students at the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture in Paris; here he has depicted himself in a red cloak at lower left correcting a pupil’s drawing. Other students are shown making life studies from the two nude models posed on the table in the center. The paintings on the walls and casts of antique statues, including the Farnese Hercules seen from the back at left and the Medici Venus opposite, serve as venerable prototypes.

The subject of this drawing is most probably Fragonard's sixteen-year-old daughter, Rosalie, who died three years later in 1788. Fragonard has allowed the irregularities of the chalk to dictate the quality of his marks, from the vigorous strokes in the sitter's bodice to the softer, less distinct lines of her slipping shawl. The drawing is signed and dated "frago.1785" at lower left; the date was read incorrectly as "1765" when the decorative cartouche was added by a later owner.

This sheet of studies may have originally formed part of a sketchbook. Most of the groups, arranged in three rows, are reminiscences of military life under Napoleon. For example, the central frieze of figures at the bottom of the sheet shows a group of soldiers transporting large blocks of stone roped to a makeshift cart. This might relate to the unsuccessful storming of the citadel of Acre at the beginning of Napoleon's Egyptian campaign in 1799.

Known for his acerbic caricatures, Honoré Daumier here interprets a scene from Molière's Malade imaginaire. A patient is visited by a doctor, who lectures self-importantly at the bedside. Terrified, the miserable man focuses his attention on the doctor's assistant, who holds an exaggeratedly large clyster, used to administer an enema.

This female nude — one of very few Seurat drew — emerges from deep shadows. The contours of her body are defined by shading and stumping rather than by hard outlines. In contrast to the stillness of the figure, the background, composed of a web of vigorous crayon marks, vibrates with energy. The model's conventional pose suggests that this work may have been made in a life class, where her raised knee and hands would have rested on a chair.

This elegantly posed woman adjusting her hair may be a customer in a milliner's shop. Degas has rendered her in bold strokes of charcoal highlighted with luminous areas of pastel. The model's sinuous posture and the unusual angle contribute to the drawing's expressive power. Extensive alterations indicate that Degas rethought his initial ideas. The earlier design is visible along the curve of the model's back and right arm.

This still life consists of a blue and white faience dish, filled with apples, placed at the center of the table. Five apples sit apart; a sixth seems to be about to join them. At left, a bottle with its neck truncated glows almost black; in front is a tall wine glass, painted blue to reflect the hues of the faience plate. Anchoring the composition in the background is the ornamental back of a wooden chair, which frames a view of the colored wallpaper in the background.