The Frick Art & Historical Center presents Storied Past Four Centuries of French Drawings from the Blanton Museum of Art on view now through April 17, 2011.
Featuring 56 drawings produced over a 400-year period, this exhibition includes works by Jean-Baptiste Greuze, François Boucher and Nicolas Lancret, among others, with the 19th century represented by choice sheets from François-Marius Granet, Théodore Rousseau, Jean Forain, Théodore-Alexandre Steinlen, and others who reflect shifts in the approach to drawing in the modern era.
Alexandre-Louis Leloir (1843-1884), Moroccan Girl, Playing a Stringed Instrument, 1875. Watercolor, gouache and graphite on ivory wove paper, 9 5/8 in. x 13 9/16 in.
The full scope of drawing and its uses is represented, from preliminary sketches, compositional studies and figure studies to finished drawings. Especially rich in 17th-and 18th-century drawings, the exhibition illustrates the rise to dominance of the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture as one of the most dominant cultural and political institutions in Europe.
Organized from the Blanton Museum of Art’s impressive collection, the drawings have received fresh scholarly attention and will be examined in detail in the accompanying catalogue.
Storied Past: Four Centuries of French Drawings from the Blanton Museum of Art is organized by The Blanton Museum of Art at The University of Texas at Austin.
Support for the exhibition is provided by Continental Airlines and the Still Water Foundation.
The Frick Art & Historical Center, a museum, historic site and cultural center, serves the public through preservation, presentation, and interpretation of the fine and decorative arts and historically significant artifacts for all residents of and visitors to Western Pennsylvania.
http://thefrickpittsburgh.org
