Vernet to Villon Catalog Preview by Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art

vernet to Nineteenth-Century French Master Drawings from the National Gallery of Art

villon Victor Koshkin-Youritzin Margaret Morgan Grasselli

fred jones jr. museum of art = university of oklahoma iv

fred jones jr. museum of art â&#x20AC;˘ university of oklahoma

vernet to villon: nineteenth-century french master drawings from the national gallery of art

vernet to Nineteenth-Century French Master Drawings from the National Gallery of Art

villon Victor Koshkin-Youritzin Margaret Morgan Grasselli

fred jones jr. museum of art = university of oklahoma iv

fred jones jr. museum of art â&#x20AC;˘ university of oklahoma

vernet to villon: nineteenth-century french master drawings from the national gallery of art

vernet to Nineteenth-Century French Master Drawings from the National Gallery of Art

villon = 1 Director’s Foreword ghislain d’humières

= 3 Introduction

margaret morgan grasselli

= 7 Preface

victor koshkin-youritzin

= 8 Catalogue of the Exhibition

fred jones jr. museum of art • university of oklahoma

71 Addendum

81 About the Authors

72 End Notes

82 Publication Notes

77 Acknowledgments

83 About the Venue

vernet to villon: nineteenth-century french master drawings from the national gallery of art

vii

vernet to Nineteenth-Century French Master Drawings from the National Gallery of Art

villon = 1 Director’s Foreword ghislain d’humières

= 3 Introduction

margaret morgan grasselli

= 7 Preface

victor koshkin-youritzin

= 8 Catalogue of the Exhibition

fred jones jr. museum of art • university of oklahoma

71 Addendum

81 About the Authors

72 End Notes

82 Publication Notes

77 Acknowledgments

83 About the Venue

vernet to villon: nineteenth-century french master drawings from the national gallery of art

vii

director’s foreword = ghislain d ’humières Wylodean and Bill Saxon Director, Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art

Five years ago, upon my arrival in Norman and appointment as Director of the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, I met with Professor Victor Koshkin-Youritzin. His enthusiasm and passion for art and teaching were contagious, and we spoke about several ideas or projects he had previously planned with my predecessor that he was hoping we may pursue. My immediate interest went to the French nineteenth-century drawings from the National Gallery of Art. It is one of my favorite periods of art history and is a perfect introduction to our superb Weitzenhoffer Collection of French Impressionism. Since we were starting a capital campaign to build the new Stuart Wing and welcome the Eugene B. Adkins Collection, I was obliged to ask Victor for some patience as we closed half of the museum during construction. This got him even more excited, and during one of my trips to Washington, DC, I had the privilege to meet Dr. Margaret Morgan Grasselli, Curator of Old Master Drawings at the National Gallery of Art, and review the drawings already selected for the potential exhibition. The time spent with Dr. Grasselli, looking at

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fred jones jr. museum of art • university of oklahoma

all those beautiful masterpieces, was a treat that I will never forget. The following year, I even took OU Regent Jon Stuart and his daughter, Melissa Nuzum, to look at them again. These extra years in preparation gave Victor and Dr. Grasselli the opportunity to select newer acquisitions and put together this splendid, jeweled collection, which takes you through the extraordinarily delicate beauty of French nineteenth-century works on paper. I would like to thank first and above all Dr. Grasselli and Professor Koshkin-Youritzin for their wonderful collaboration which gave us the privilege to enjoy this exhibition. I am letting them acknowledge and thank every person who has made it possible, but I cannot thank enough Regent and Mrs. Jon Stuart and both of their daughters, Melissa and Susan, for their support. This exhibition would not have been possible without the generosity of the Stuart Family Foundation. I hope you have had a chance to see this gem during its only display in Oklahoma. Please enjoy these drawings in person and keep this beautiful catalogue as a memory of your visit.

vernet to villon: nineteenth-century french master drawings from the national gallery of art

director’s foreword = ghislain d ’humières Wylodean and Bill Saxon Director, Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art

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fred jones jr. museum of art • university of oklahoma

vernet to villon: nineteenth-century french master drawings from the national gallery of art

introduction = margaret morgan grasselli Curator of Old Master Drawings, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

The seeds of the National Gallery of Art’s collection of nineteenth-century French drawings were sown very early in 1942, just a year after the museum was opened to the public, with the gift from Mrs. John W. Simpson of eight drawings by the sculptor Auguste Rodin. The collection blossomed rapidly the very next year when Lessing Rosenwald gave more than 350 sheets by a number of different French masters of the same century, but thereafter its growth slowed drastically, increasing by scarcely more than a hundred works over the next forty years. It was not until 1985, with a gift of more than 85 outstanding works by Paul Mellon and his wife Bunny, that this part of the collection began to take on a new vitality, and from that time on it has continued to develop and mature at an encouraging pace. In recent years, in fact, it has emerged as one of the strongest areas of the Gallery’s extensive collection of European drawings, boasting many great individual masterpieces by some of the most recognized names of the century—Delacroix, Ingres, Degas, Cézanne, and Toulouse-Lautrec among them—but also featuring a number of exciting and unexpectedly grand works by less heralded masters, such as Philibert de Ranchicourt, Jean-Antoine Constantin, and Alfred Bellet du Poisat. Given the then-burgeoning strength in this part of the Gallery’s holdings, Victor Koshkin-Youritzin’s arrival on the scene in 2004 with an idea to put together a small exhibition of French nineteenth-century drawings to be shown at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art could not have been more timely. Because of the large number of relatively new additions to that part of the collection—many of which had never been exhibited before—we decided early on to focus our attention on works acquired only in the previous decade (though we could not resist including the great Paul Huet tree

fred jones jr. museum of art • university of oklahoma

study on blue paper, cat. 14, which had been purchased in 1993). Given the long gestation of this project, however, the period was extended to cover an additional five years, through 2009, during which several pertinent works of great beauty and importance were added to the collection. Shaping the selection with Victor turned out to be a completely collaborative process and a delightful exercise as, on several separate occasions over a span of years, we laid out the works under consideration on the counters in our storeroom and weighed the merits of each one, not only in terms of its own individual qualities, but also in regard to its place within the larger group. There were some disappointments along the way—when a work was deemed by our conservators too fragile to travel, for example, or when plans for another exhibition preempted a few others—but in the end we arrived at the nicely varied, consistently appealing, and, in our view, thoroughly satisfying array of thirty works presented here. Quite apart from representing many of the facets of nineteenth-century French draftsmanship in general and capturing as much as possible the particular character of the Gallery’s collection, the selection also pays homage to the generosity of a number of the Gallery’s most esteemed donors, Mr. and Mrs. Mellon foremost among them. We at the National Gallery take very seriously the faith that these and a host of other benefactors have placed in us as the permanent caretakers of the works of art they personally cherished and then chose to give to the nation, or have helped us buy by donating purchase funds. (No acquisitions are made with federal monies.) We lend as generously as we can to exhibitions throughout the world and around the United States and display works on paper in temporary exhibitions in our own galleries as much as we can. However, since

vernet to villon: nineteenth-century french master drawings from the national gallery of art

introduction = margaret morgan grasselli Curator of Old Master Drawings, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

fred jones jr. museum of art • university of oklahoma

vernet to villon: nineteenth-century french master drawings from the national gallery of art

drawings require special protection from light—excessive exposure can discolor the paper and fade or alter the appearance of many of the media—we necessarily limit the time they can spend on the walls. In addition, because of the sheer size of the Gallery’s collection of works on paper—now numbering well over 100,000 works, including about 35,000 old master and modern drawings—only a miniscule percentage of the collection can be exhibited at one time. We therefore maintain two study rooms that are open in the morning and afternoon of every working day so that anyone who would like to see and study the works, for whatever reason, may do so with relative ease. We have in the past organized exhibitions of prints and drawings that have been circulated through our Lending Service to many American museums, but very rarely have we been able to participate as the sole lender to an exhibition like this one that has been organized, for all intents and purposes, by an outside curator. From the start, Victor’s enthusiasm and commitment drew us in and convinced us that this would be a most worthy project. Now, after nearly eight years of discussions, preparations, and collaboration, we are happy to present to the students, staff, and alumni of the University of Oklahoma, the residents of the surrounding area, and other visitors to the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art this sampling of outstanding drawings from the National Gallery’s collection.

fred jones jr. museum of art • university of oklahoma

vernet to villon: nineteenth-century french master drawings from the national gallery of art

fred jones jr. museum of art • university of oklahoma

vernet to villon: nineteenth-century french master drawings from the national gallery of art

Preface = victor koshkin-youritzin David Ross Boyd Professor of Art History, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma

Marking the first time that Washington, D.C.’s National Gallery of Art has ever lent a complete exhibition to any institution in Oklahoma, Vernet to Villon: NineteenthCentury French Master Drawings from the National Gallery of Art features thirty works from one of the world’s most distinguished drawings collections and represents an extraordinary act of generosity on the National Gallery’s part to both our university and our state. The project began in 2004 when I telephoned Andrew Robison, Andrew W. Mellon Senior Curator of Prints and Drawings at the National Gallery of Art, and presented my ideas for an exhibition of nineteenth-century French drawings from the Gallery’s collection to be held at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art. The very next day, he and Margaret (Meg) Morgan Grasselli, Curator of Old Master Drawings, most graciously met at length with me. Within a matter of days, Meg had compiled a list of works that could be made available for loan and laid out the drawings so we could go through them together, make an initial selection, and give shape and substance to the prospective exhibition. So consistently important and astute was Meg’s contribution to this process that I asked her to be the exhibition’s official co-curator, and our collaboration over several years—most recently in preparing this catalogue—has been an absolute joy. Her exceptionally generous donation of time and expertise

fred jones jr. museum of art • university of oklahoma

is something for which we at the University of Oklahoma are profoundly grateful. The roster of drawings to be included in the show evolved and changed somewhat over the following seven years, often embracing new acquisitions made by the Gallery, and the selection was not finalized until just last year. The exhibition not only presents works by such world-class names as Ingres, Géricault, Dela-croix, Degas, Manet, Cézanne, Gauguin, and Toulouse-Lautrec, but also includes splendid drawings by such superb, though less famous individuals as Constant Troyon, Léon Lévy-Dhurmer, and Rosa Bonheur (one of the nineteenth-century’s finest women artists and highly acclaimed in her own time). With outstanding artistic quality constantly being our principal concern, Meg and I have selected an exhibition that covers most of the nineteenth-century’s historically significant stylistic categories, from classicism, romanticism, and realism, to impressionism and post-impressionism. The works present a rich diversity of styles, subjects, and media, and include a refreshing array of sketches, preparatory studies, and highly finished pieces. The catalogue entries that follow discuss the exhibition’s artists and their works in a generally chronological order based on the date of the individual drawings.

vernet to villon: nineteenth-century french master drawings from the national gallery of art

Preface = victor koshkin-youritzin David Ross Boyd Professor of Art History, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma

fred jones jr. museum of art • university of oklahoma

vernet to villon: nineteenth-century french master drawings from the national gallery of art

vernet to Nineteenth-Century French Master Drawings from the National Gallery of Art

villon

c ata l o g u e of t he e xhibit ion

fred jones jr. museum of art â&#x20AC;˘ university of oklahoma

vernet to villon: nineteenth-century french master drawings from the national gallery of art

vernet to Nineteenth-Century French Master Drawings from the National Gallery of Art

villon

c ata l o g u e of t he e xhibit ion

fred jones jr. museum of art â&#x20AC;˘ university of oklahoma

vernet to villon: nineteenth-century french master drawings from the national gallery of art

1. Carle Vernet (Bordeaux 1758-1835) View of Paris from the Terrace of the Pavillon de Brimborion, 1810/1812 Watercolor over graphite with touches of white gouache on wove paper; 632 x 961 mm National Gallery of Art, Washington, Collection of Mr. and Mrs. John Jay Ide, 1999.40.1

Son of the distinguished landscape and seaport painter Joseph Vernet (1714-1789), and father of Horace Vernet (1789-1863)—likewise an esteemed painter— Carle Vernet won the Prix the Rome in 1782 and went on to a notable career as a lithographer and painter, receiving the Légion d’honneur in 1808 and membership in the Institut de France in 1815. He executed battle scenes for Napoleon (perhaps most famously the Battle of Marengo of c. 1804 now at the Château of Versailles), but became best known for his depictions of horses in hunting and racing subjects. A respected teacher, he was Théodore Géricault ’s first art instructor, working with him for approximately two years.1 Vernet’s depiction here of nineteeth-century Europe’s artistic capital, Paris, stands out in his oeuvre as one of his largest and most impressive watercolors—and a rare foray, for him, into panoramic view-painting. In the foreground is the terrace of the eighteenth-century Pavillon de Brimborion, built for the marquise de Coislin and situated in the town of Sèvres, just a few kilometers west of Paris. The three men depicted there are the artist’s son Horace on the right, Horace’s future father-in-law, Monsieur Pujol—the owner of the pavillon—at left, and Carle Vernet himself at center, with this very work on his easel. Among the residences and landmarks that are visible from the terrace are the house of the duc de Chaulne just below and to the right; the château of Bellevue on the prominence at far right; the old wooden Pont de Sèvres traversing the Seine and the Île Séguin at center, connecting Sèvres with the road that heads straight toward Paris; farther to the left, under construction, the new stone Pont de Sèvres, which would be completed by 1815; and beyond that, at far left, Saint-Cloud with its bridge and Mont Calvaire.2 Several Parisian monuments can be discerned in the distance at center, including the dome of the Panthéon, the towers and spire of Notre Dame, and the hill of Montmartre.

fred jones jr. museum of art • university of oklahoma

The watercolor was probably commissioned by Prince Alexander Borisovich Kourakine, who served as the Russian ambassador to France from 1808 to 1812 and rented the pavillon de Brimborion at that time.3 He might well have wanted to have a souvenir of the splendid view he had enjoyed from his temporary residence; the inclusion in the drawing of the three men whom he would have met there was perhaps intended by Vernet to serve as a personal reminder of their friendship. Quite apart from this drawing’s astonishing amount of deftly rendered detail—particularly admirable in a medium so unforgiving of mistakes—the watercolor spectacularly captures the panoramic view and contains a brilliantly harmonious design. Particularly effective are the opposing arcs of the terrace and parapet in the foreground, the broad sweep of the Seine River in the middle ground, and the vertical shaft of the central boulevard that draws the viewer’s attention straight toward Paris while also bisecting the drawing into two nearly perfect halves. A variety of vertical and diagonal elements—including especially the octagonal skylight in the foreground—creates a complex interplay that forces the viewer’s eye through the composition, but always brings it back to the figures in the foreground. They form the base of a wide V, the left side of which runs from Saint-Cloud back to the terrace, while the right side broadens out again toward the Château of Bellevue. Included in the foreground group is an empty chair that beckons the viewer to join them and to behold the exquisitely rendered panorama unfolding before them. Finally, indispensible to the watercolor’s success are Vernet’s strategically placed accents of red in the flowers at right and left, which not only define and anchor the foreground plane of the composition, but also complement the expansive use of green and serve to energize the entire scene.

vernet to villon: nineteenth-century french master drawings from the national gallery of art

fred jones jr. museum of art • university of oklahoma

vernet to villon: nineteenth-century french master drawings from the national gallery of art

2. Philibert d’Amiens de Ranchicourt (Béthune 1781-1825 Ranchicourt) A Fashionable Couple Seen from Behind, c. 1810 Black and white chalk on ocher wove paper; 591 x 449 mm Atelier stamp in black ink at lower left: Philibert de Ranchicourt National Gallery of Art, Washington, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund, 2001.15.1

The elegantly attired figures in this chalk drawing belong to the same period as the previous watercolor by Carle Vernet (cat. 1), with the gentleman here wearing a coat and hat that are very similar to those worn by the three men depicted there. The artist responsible, Philibert d’Amiens de Ranchicourt, was a self-trained draftsman and painter who produced numerous images of quotidian, often domestic life, as well as portraits and architectural and military subjects. In his images of fashionable folk such as this couple he strongly evokes the art of his older contemporary Louis-Léopold Boilly (1761-1845), who recorded numerous scenes of everyday Parisian life, including some from this same period that included men and women wearing similar fashions. Although Ranchicourt has been dubbed “more an amateur than a professional,” he did receive some public recognition for his art, winning silver medals at exhibitions in Lille in 1822 and Douai in 1825.4 As the National Gallery’s drawing demonstrates, Ranchicourt possessed considerable technical skill and artistic sensitivity. The couple is rendered in admirable detail, with a lively play of light across clothing surfaces, sharp, energizing accent marks, and a system of parallel strokes that helps to unify the overall design. England’s preeminent nineteenth-century art critic John Ruskin stated in his Elements of Drawing: “...the only rule which I have, as yet, found to be without exception respecting art, is that all great art is delicate.” 5 Although this provocative assertion is perhaps too sweeping, much great art is indeed delicate, as many drawings in this entire

fred jones jr. museum of art • university of oklahoma

exhibit can testify. In the case of this piece, we can relish how it shimmers with sensitive touches of chalk, varied in weight and touch, and adroitly placed white highlights. These are enhanced by a number of compositional subtleties, not least of which is the astute offcenter placement of the figures, which leaves the lady’s face only partly visible beneath her bonnet's bold curve, an arc that is repeated in her companion's hat and riding crop. And what an exquisite bonnet it is, with its large, sheltering brim, charming ribbons, and decorated crown, which echoes the light-catching gathers of the woman’s sleeves. How much vitality, charm, and artistic subtlety this seemingly simple drawing possesses! Thirty-five years after this piece’s completion, the illustrious poet and critic Charles Baudelaire published one of his most celebrated comments in the Salon de 1845: “The painter, the true painter will be he who can wring from contemporary life its epic aspect and make us see and understand, with color or in drawing, how great and poetic we are in our cravats and our polished boots.”6 While this statement is generally applied to such painters of “modern life” as Constantin Guys (1805-1892) and Édouard Manet (cat. 18), how aptly these words describe the gentleman in this realistically and so sensitively executed drawing of daily life. Moreover, à propos of the anticipation of later artistic practice, here we have a back view that would be so important in the work of an artist such as Edgar Degas (cats. 19, 20), with his famous rear-view studies of dancers or portraits of, for example, Mary Cassatt.

vernet to villon: nineteenth-century french master drawings from the national gallery of art

fred jones jr. museum of art • university of oklahoma

vernet to villon: nineteenth-century french master drawings from the national gallery of art

3. Jean-Antoine Constantin (Marseilles 1756-1844 Aix-en-Provence) An Ancient Tree Fallen Beside a Stream, c. 1814 Pen and black and gray ink over black chalk on slightly bluish laid paper; 415 x 525 mm Watermark: script M in a circle/annonay National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Alexander M. and Judith W. Laughlin, 2003.96.1

The important theme of landscape is represented in nine drawings in this exhibition, featuring a wide range of styles and media. (See also cats. 1, 12-15, 22, 23, 30.) This one, dating from about 1814, is the work of the painter, draftsman, watercolorist, and engraver JeanAntoine Constantin, who passed almost his entire career in Provence and other locales in the south of France. He began his artistic career as a painter of faience in a manufactory near his hometown of Marseilles, before studying at the École des Beaux-Arts there. After winning the school’s top award in 1773, he spent six years in Rome, where he studied with Jacques-Louis David’s teacher, Joseph-Marie Vien (1716-1809). From 1786 until 1795, he served as the director of the municipal drawing school in Aix-en-Provence; some years later he taught at Digneles-Bains.7 Aided in part by the patronage of a former pupil, Comte Auguste de Forbin (1779-1841), who became director of the Musée du Louvre and purchased several of Constantin’s drawings for the collection,8 Constantin enjoyed a successful career, receiving a gold medal in his Salon debut (1817) and further exhibiting there in 1822, 1827, and 1831. Noted for naturalistic landscapes such as the one exhibited here, Constantin was influenced by seventeenth-century Dutch art, especially the works of

fred jones jr. museum of art • university of oklahoma

Karel Dujardin (1622-1678) and Salomon van Ruysdael (1600/1603-1670). Constantin is frequently referred to as “the father of the nineteenth-century Provençal landscape school” 9 and was responsible for training, among its most noted members, Forbin, Émile Loubon (18091863), and François-Marius Granet (1777-1849). The tree study from the National Gallery’s collection features the skillful and elegant use of pen and ink that is a hallmark of Constantin’s graphic style. Every stroke allows viewers to revel in the minute details of a magnificently formed, yet broken tree, whose three cracked limbs may suggest death or a life suddenly cut short. Such symbolism was common in the seventeenthcentury Dutch painting with which Constantin was so familiar, but his drawing also presents romantic overtones that link it to the latest trends in contemporary French art. Indeed, as all three broken limbs dramatically stretch upward, outward and downward—with a drooping limb having, immediately above it, a compositional and perhaps symbolic counterpart in the rise of a distant healthy tree—the main, leftward-thrusting limb terminates in what can almost be seen as a gnarled hand, its fingers in a last desperate attempt to hold on to life.

vernet to villon: nineteenth-century french master drawings from the national gallery of art

fred jones jr. museum of art • university of oklahoma

vernet to villon: nineteenth-century french master drawings from the national gallery of art

4. François-Édouard Picot (Paris 1786-1868 Paris) Vulcan Discovering Venus and Mars, c. 1815 Pen and black ink with black wash and white gouache on brown prepared paper; 224 x 298 mm National Gallery of Art, Washington, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund, 2000.60.1

During the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, the most prominent style in European art and architecture was neoclassicism, and in painting it was most gloriously embodied in the art of Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825) whose Oath of the Horatii (1784), Death of Socrates (1787), and Death of Marat (1793) represent the movement at its artistic and moralizing best. One of David’s students was the author of this striking night scene, François-Édouard Picot—who also studied with Francois André-Vincent (1746-1816) and with Léonor Merimée (1757-1836), father of the poet, Prosper Merimée. A rare representation of Picot’s draftsmanship,10 Vulcan Discovering Venus and Mars demonstrates how completely the artist had absorbed the neoclassical aesthetic, not only in the stark geometry of the composition and its organization parallel to the picture plane, but also in the strongly sculptural qualities of the human forms and the bold evocation of antiquity through the furnishings and armor. Best known now for his 1817 Cupid and Psyche (Musée du Louvre, Paris), Picot took second prize in the Prix de Rome competition in both 1812 and 1813.11 After spending time in the Eternal City, he returned to Paris and exhibited in the Salon from 1819 to 1839,12 winning a gold medal in his first year there. He focused on portraits as well as genre, religious, historical and allegorical subjects, and created many notable decorations for churches and public institutions, including the Louvre and the newly-created museum at the Château of Versailles. Two of the most important later nineteenthcentury academic painters—Alexandre Cabanel (18231889) and William Bouguereau (1825-1905)—studied with Picot; he was also an early practitioner of lithography, which had been invented by the Bavarian playwright Aloys Senefelder in 1798.

fred jones jr. museum of art • university of oklahoma

Vulcan, the god of fire, was married to Venus, the goddess of love, and she in turn was the lover of Mars, the god of war. Here, in a traditional representation of love triumphing over war, Venus and Mars are shown asleep, exhausted from their exertions, while Mars’ helmet and weapons rest at the foot of their bed. An astonished Vulcan holds a torch that lights the scene in appropriately dramatic fashion as he suddenly discovers the couple in the bed that he had presumably forged himself, thereby making the adulterous act even more outrageous.13 With great skill, Picot has combined technical prowess with intricate compositional rhythms to create a thoroughly riveting work. Lit only by Vulcan’s torch, the scene is effectively framed by the elaborately sculpted form of the couch and the arc of the canopy suspended above it. Having initially prepared the paper with a layer of brown pigment to evoke a nocturnal interior, Picot used thick touches of opaque white gouache to sculpt the figures with light and black washes to intensify the surrounding darkness and add further dimension to the forms. While the intense contrast of light and dark creates an immediately arresting image, Picot is equally skilled at creating more subtle effects, as can be seen in the delicate touches that illuminate such secondary elements as the fringe of the canopy, the brush of the helmet, the pillows lining the bed, and the iron lamp stand. Perhaps not quite as subtle are some of Picot’s references to the sexual act that has recently taken place: Just below Venus’ buttocks and abdomen are the tips of two spears that parallel the angle of her body and can easily be taken to imply sexual penetration, while at the same time Venus’ limp wrists and the drooping necks of the swans situated atop the bed above her suggest an appropriate post-coital lassitude.

vernet to villon: nineteenth-century french master drawings from the national gallery of art

fred jones jr. museum of art • university of oklahoma

vernet to villon: nineteenth-century french master drawings from the national gallery of art

adde ndum =

Longtime distinguished Harvard professor, major authority on Rembrandt and Dutch art, and one of history’s foremost art connoisseurs, Jakob Rosenberg (1893-1980) in 1964 delivered a series of lectures at the National Gallery of Art on the problem of quality in art. In connection with these lectures, he authored the book, On Quality in Art: Criteria of Excellence Past and Present; The A. W. Mellon Lectures in the Fine Arts at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D. C., 1964; published for the Bollingen Foundation, New York, by Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1967. From this classic book (page 204), we offer, for the reader’s consideration, Professor Rosenberg’s summary of some of his thoughts relating to the determination of artistic quality specifically in regard to drawings: “[W]e suggest the following list of criteria of high quality as being more or less valid for the whole field of master drawings from the fifteenth through the nineteenth century: Line and tone: sensitivity, articulateness, flexibility, ease, surety, spontaneity, rhythmical quality, suggestiveness Form: solidity, organic character, coherence, clear distinction of planes Space: an articulate, continuous, and comprehensive treatment (“comprehensive” is a Baroque addition) Composition, or, perhaps, formal organization: integration (unification), gradation, density, sense of balance, and richness of formal relationships

fred jones jr. museum of art • university of oklahoma

Finally, the following more general characteristics, which cannot be properly confined to any one of the above categories: range of accents, artistic economy, selectiveness, feeling for the media, sense for the significant, consistency, vitality, originality, inventiveness, intensity, clarity, expressiveness This above grouping is not absolutely binding, since some of the criteria are applicable to more than one category; for instance, sensitivity has a bearing not only on line and tone, but also on form, space, and the whole formal organization. But it is most noticeable in relation to line, tone, and touch. Furthermore, there is some overlapping among these criteria: for instance, originality and inventiveness, suggestiveness and expressiveness; while they are close, they are not really identical. Another point to be remembered is that not all of these aspects of high quality are found in every work of art, although many of them will appear. Very often some aspects stand out more than others in a particular work, but it is important that a good number of them are included. And certain combinations seem mandatory, such as the combination of subtlety and power, clarity and richness, depth and comprehensiveness of concept. Each of these qualities appearing singly, as we have witnessed, is not in itself indicative of high quality. Our list, while far from complete, covers a great many of the essential criteria of quality.” For over forty years, I have used Jakob Rosenberg’s magnificent book in conducting my Museum Studies courses, first at Newcomb College, Tulane University, and subsequently at the University of Oklahoma. The passages quoted above were in the forefront of my thinking as we selected pieces for this exhibition. — V.K.-Y.

vernet to villon: nineteenth-century french master drawings from the national gallery of art

adde ndum =

fred jones jr. museum of art • university of oklahoma

vernet to villon: nineteenth-century french master drawings from the national gallery of art

acknowl ed g me n t s =

One of the special pleasures connected with the writing of this catalogue is the opportunity it provides the authors to thank the various individuals and institutions who contributed, in various ways, to the production of the book and/or to the mounting of its related exhibition. First, we—and with us, The University of Oklahoma—would like to express our deepest appreciation to the National Gallery of Art and to its director, Earl A. Powell III, and deputy director, Franklin Kelly, without whose support this exhibition could never have been realized. Nor could the show ever have been possible without the initial and sustained support of Andrew Robison, the National Gallery’s Andrew W. Mellon Senior Curator of Prints and Drawings. At the National Gallery, numerous other individuals have our warmest gratitude, among them especially: Gregory Jecmen, Ginger Crockett Hammer, Susanne Cook, and Monica Alvano in the Division of Prints and Drawings; chief paper conservator Kimberly Schenck and senior paper conservator Marian Dirda; Alicia Thomas and Lisa MacDougall in the Gallery’s Lending Service, who administered all aspects of the loan; Shan Linde, Caroline Danforth, and Laura Neal, the matters and framers who prepared the drawings for exhibition; Judy Cline and Carol Nesemann in the Registrar’s Office; Daniella Berman and Chris Vogel in the publishing office; many members of the Gallery’s Department of Imaging and Visual Services, including Lorene Emerson, Ricardo Blanc, Barbara Bernard, and Barbara C. G. Wood; and the Gallery’s Library staff, especially John Hagood, Reference Librarian, and Lamia Doumato, Head of Reader Services. At the University of Oklahoma, our most profound gratitude goes to President David L. Boren and to the exhibition’s sponsors Jon and Dee Dee Stuart and the Stuart Family Foundation for their invaluable and exceptionally generous support. Deepest thanks also go to the present and immediate past directors of the

fred jones jr. museum of art • university of oklahoma

Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, Ghislain d’Humières and Eric McCauley Lee (now director of the Kimbell Museum) for their indispensible, constant, and enthusiastic support. For his elegant catalogue design and valuable advice, we extend our sincerest appreciation to Eric Anderson, Professor of Visual Communications in the School of Art and Art History at the University of Oklahoma. It was the greatest pleasure working with him. At the Fred Jones Jr. Museum, the following individuals kindly provided valuable assistance in numerous and varied ways: Gail Kana Anderson, Deputy Director; Heather Ahtone, Curator; Susan Baley, Director of Education; Michael Bendure, Director of Communications; Tracy Bidwell, Assistant Registrar; Brigid Brink, Administrative Assistant; Miranda Callendar, Registrar; Joyce Cummins, Director of Security and Facilities; Jessica Farling, Coordinator of Academic Programs; Jin Jo Gentry, Museum Store Manager; Kati Kane, Museum Store Day Manager; Karen McWilliams, Curator of School and Family Programs; Sandra D. Milligan, former Administrative Assistant; Katie Parker, Audience Development Manager; Brad Stevens, Chief Preparator; Hetty Strong, Customer Service Coordinator; Becky Trumble, Director of Administration and Financial Operations; Jenny Vigil, Assistant Registrar; and Mark White, Eugene B. Adkins Curator. Sincere thanks also go to: Kerry Azzarello; Jon Barrett; Dennis Brown; Lacy Jo Burgess; Ian Carrig; Andrew Couch; Page Grossman; Karen Hughes; Lauren Jackson; Lance Kelly; Treva Kirk; John Paul; Josh Puckett; Don Saliba; Robert Santa Cruz; Tracey Williamson; and Kristi Wyatt. We also warmly acknowledge the important contribution of the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art’s volunteer docents, all other volunteers—including student interns—the Art Museum Ambassadors, and the dedicated members of the Museum’s Board of Visitors.

vernet to villon: nineteenth-century french master drawings from the national gallery of art

acknowl ed g me n t s =

fred jones jr. museum of art • university of oklahoma

vernet to villon: nineteenth-century french master drawings from the national gallery of art

We are grateful for research/travel funding provided to Victor from the following sources at the University: The University of Oklahoma Research Council and its former Vice President for Research, Dean T. H. Lee Williams; Rich Taylor and Eugene Enrico, present and past deans of the Weitzenhoffer Family College of Fine Arts; Mary Jo Watson, Director of the School of Art and Art History; and Ghislain d’Humières and the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art. We also thank University of Oklahoma professors Samuel J. Huskey, Chair of the Department of Classics and Letters, and Alfred S. Bradford, John Saxon Chair in Ancient History, for providing invaluable assistance with the identification of the subjects of some of the drawings; Pamela (Mrs. Alfred S.) Bradford—formerly on the University of Oklahoma art faculty—for astutely critiquing and discussing the exhibition’s pieces; the stellar library staff at The University of Oklahoma and especially librarians Matthew C. Stock and Dennis R. Mosser in the Grant Fine Arts Library at the Catlett Music Center; Jasmin Chevis, Natalie DeBerry, Sara Huber, Molly Murphy, and Ann Raia in the Interlibrary Loan department of the Bizzell Library; and the entire staff of the Bizzell Library, especially Janet Croft. At the University of Oklahoma Printing Services our warmest gratitude goes to Ellen King and Bob Goodwin, as well as to Colin Bowman, John Lanig, Laura Patterson, and Wanda Trumbly. Across the nation and abroad, a number of Victor’s friends and colleagues were extremely helpful. A former student, Gloria Groom—the longtime David and Mary Winton Green Curator of Nineteenth Century European Painting and Sculpture at the Art Institute of Chicago—meticulously read early manuscript drafts regarding many late nineteenth-century artists and most generously made valuable comments, particularly regarding Toulouse-Lautrec. Likewise, Anne Roquebert—conservateur en chef at the Musée d’Orsay and a renowned

fred jones jr. museum of art • university of oklahoma

Toulouse-Lautrec expert—provided important advice regarding him and his drawing in this exhibition. The distinguished French diplomat and noted French feminist writer and scholar Claudine Monteil-Serre also supplied helpful information relating to certain artists, as did New York symphony and opera conductor Anthony Morss. Victor’s cherished companion of 27 years, Cynthia Youritzin—scholar and writer—donated crucial assistance, advice, and encouragement over the many years of this project’s existence, helping research, edit, type, and proofread this catalogue’s manuscript. She has our most heartfelt possible gratitude. Likewise we are indebted to Meg’s husband Nick and her three children—James, Juliana, and Nini—for their understanding and sustained support during the many interruptions to their daily lives caused by Meg’s work on this catalogue and exhibition. Among the many other additional individuals— some of them friends of one or both of the authors— who have our sincerest appreciation are the following: Jane F. Aebersold, Bobby A. Anderson, Laura Bennett, Alexandra Boalch, Karen Bucky, Avril Cassanas, Susan Havens Caldwell, Anne Coulie, Agnès de Tristan, David Essex, Rhonda D. Haley, Scarlett R. Huffman, Chris Kallenberger, Roger Mandle, Darcy Marlow, Bob McCloy, J. Daniel O’Flaherty, Lilia O'Flaherty, Stephen Ongpin, Teresa O’Toole, Allison Lee Palmer, Muriel Quancard, Lisa Rigo, Charles E. Rankin, Joe D. Riddle, Daniel Roger, Alan Salz, Ginny L. Sanders, Lara SmithBosanquet, Andrew Strout, David Tunick, Arthur K. Wheelock, Jr., and Eric Zafran. Certain individuals who played crucial roles in the early years of our professional formation are no longer with us, yet they deserve recognition for their support and guidance, which ultimately led in different ways to the realization of this book and exhibition. Victor re-

mains profoundly grateful to S. Lane Faison, Jr., George Heard Hamilton, H. Lee Hirsche, Fred Licht, A. Hyatt Mayor, Charles Rieger, and Tatiana Koshkin-Youritzin. Meg is deeply indebted to Agnes Mongan and Konrad Oberhuber for having guided her first steps in the study of drawings and for encouraging her to trust her eye and to aim high. Finally, we wish to acknowledge the National Gallery’s donors, whose exceptional generosity helped make it possible for this exhibition’s pieces to become a part of our nation’s holdings. And we cannot conclude without offering special tribute to the artists themselves for having created the wonderful drawings that we have been privileged to present for the public’s delectation. Victor Koshkin-Youritzin

Margaret Morgan Grasselli

vernet to villon: nineteenth-century french master drawings from the national gallery of art

fred jones jr. museum of art • university of oklahoma

Margaret Morgan Grasselli

vernet to villon: nineteenth-century french master drawings from the national gallery of art

about the authors =

fred jones jr. museum of art • university of oklahoma

victor koshkin-youritzin

margaret morgan grasselli

Educated at Williams College, Columbia University's Graduate School of Architecture, and New York University's Institute of Fine Arts, Professor Koshkin-Youritzin was a Ford Foundation Fellow at The Metropolitan Museum of Art and taught at Vanderbilt and Tulane universities before joining the OU faculty in 1972. Among the art history classes he teaches are undergraduate and graduate courses in nineteenth- and twentieth-century European and American art and museum studies (he holds the NYU/Metropolitan Museum of Art Certificate in Museum Training). Author of Photographs by Charles Henri Ford (2006), Pavel Tchelitchew (2002), Five Contemporary Russian Artists (1992), Oklahoma Treasures (1986), and other exhibition catalogues, he is also co-author of American Watercolors from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (Abrams, 1991; a Book-of-the-Month-Club Selection). His scholarly and critical articles have appeared in ARTnews, ARTS, Art Journal, Gazette des Beaux-Arts, and the Los Angeles Times. He has lectured at museums and other institutions across the United States and has also lectured in England, France, and the Caribbean. He was a month-long guest of the South African Department of Education, has presented many television programs on art history and art criticism, and was a lecturer for Cunard Lines. He has been a panelist for the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Program for Art on Film (MMA/Getty Trust). He has curated/co-curated over twenty-five art exhibitions—including for The Metropolitan Museum of Art—and has served on many museum committees and boards. He received the Oklahoma Governor’s Arts and Education Award, an Honorable Citation from the Oklahoma House of Representatives, and, at OU, numerous teaching awards, In 1997 the University awarded him its highest teaching honor, the David Ross Boyd Professorship.

After pursuing her undergraduate studies at Radcliffe College, graduating magna cum laude, Dr. Grasselli continued her studies at Harvard University and earned her doctorate in 1987 with a dissertation on the drawings of the French eighteenth-century artist Antoine Watteau. A Samuel H. Kress Pre-Doctoral Fellowship brought her in 1980 to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, where she remained in a succession of junior curatorial positions in the Division of Prints and Drawings until she became curator of old master drawings in 1989, a position she still holds. At the National Gallery, Dr. Grasselli has organized several major exhibitions, including: Watteau, 16841721 (1984); The Touch of the Artist, Master Drawings from the Woodner Collection (1995); The Drawings of Annibale Carracci (1999); Colorful Impressions: The Printmaking Revolution in Eighteenth-Century France (2003); Private Treasures, Four Centuries of European Master Drawings (2007); and Renaissance to Revolution: French Drawings from the National Gallery of Art, 1500-1800 (2009). She authored or edited the accompanying catalogues for each of these, has contributed entries to many others, and has published numerous articles and reviews. She is recognized as a world authority on French eighteenth-century drawings and on the drawings of Watteau and his followers. Dr. Grasselli is a member of the Print Council of America and served on its Board of Directors from 1993 to 1996. Since 2005 she has been Associate Editor of Master Drawings, the leading journal devoted to the publication of new scholarship in the field of old master and modern drawings.

vernet to villon: nineteenth-century french master drawings from the national gallery of art

about the authors =

fred jones jr. museum of art • university of oklahoma

victor koshkin-youritzin

margaret morgan grasselli

vernet to villon: nineteenth-century french master drawings from the national gallery of art

publication notes

about the venue

Copyright © 2012 The University of Oklahoma. This catalogue has been published in conjunction with the exhibition Vernet to Villon: Nineteenth-Century French Master Drawings from the National Gallery of Art at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, June 8 – Sept. 16, 2012; curated by Victor Koshkin-Youritzin and Margaret Morgan Grasselli. No part of this publication may be reproduced or used in any form without the written consent of the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art. Catalogue authors: Victor Koshkin-Youritzin and Margaret Morgan Grasselli Catalogue designer: Eric H. Anderson Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, The University of Oklahoma 555 Elm Avenue, Norman, Oklahoma 73019-3003 phone: 405.325.3272; fax: 405.325.7696 www.ou.edu/fjjma Wylodean and Bill Saxon Director: Ghislain d’Humières Deputy Director: Gail Kana Anderson

page iv: facing the title page (detail, see cat. 27; p. 63): Paul Gauguin A Breton Gleaner, 1886 page vi: facing the contents page (detail, see cat. 7; p. 23): Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres Self-Portrait, 1822 page viii: facing the director’s foreword (detail, see cat. 13; p. 35): Constant Troyon A Windmill against a Cloudy Sky, 1845/1850 page 2 (detail, see cat. 16; p. 40): Paul Gavarni Gulliver Awed by Three Giant Beggars in the Land of Brobdingnag, 1862 page 5 (detail, see cat. 11; p. 31): Auguste Raffet An Elderly Jew and a Muslim Tatar in the Crimea, 1837

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012936093 isbn: 978-0-9851609-1-3

page 6 (detail, see cat. 22; p. 52): Jules-Ferdinand Jacquemart Sun-Drenched Hills near Menton, 1880

This catalogue was printed by the University of Oklahoma Printing Services and is issued by the University of Oklahoma. 1,300 copies have been printed and distributed at no cost to the taxpayers of Oklahoma.

pages 8-9 (detail, see cat. 3; p. 15): Jean-Antoine Constantin An Ancient Tree Fallen Beside a Stream, c. 1814

cover (detail, see cat. 1; p. 11): Carle Vernet View of Paris from the Terrace of the Pavillon de Brimborion, 1810/1812

page 70 (detail, see cat. 12; p. 32): Constant Troyon Bathers by a Giant Oak, 1842/1844

back cover (detail, see cat. 28; p. 65): Jacques Villon Two Elegant Ladies, One Lighting a Cigarette, 1900

page 76 (detail, see cat. 23; p. 55): Henri-Joseph Harpignies Evening Light on a Wooded Lakeside with Cattle Drinking, 1882 page 80 (detail, see cat. 30; p. 69): Luigi Aloys François Joseph Loir The Banks of the Seine with the Pont d’Alma at Twilight, c. 1914

Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma’s Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art is one of the finest university art museums in the United States. Strengths of the nearly 16,000-object permanent collection (including the approx. 3,300-object Adkins Collection and the more than 3,500-object James T. Bialac Native American Art Collection) are the Weitzenhoffer Collection of French Impressionism, twentieth-century American painting and sculpture, traditional and contemporary Native American art, art of the Southwest, ceramics, photography, contemporary art, Asian art, and graphics from the sixteenth century to the present.

ghislain d’humières After studying history and art history at the Sorbonne in Paris, Ghislain d’Humières became a specialist in eighteenth-century furniture for Sotheby’s London, and then transferred to New York. He became the director of the jewelry department at Christie’s of Los Angeles and then transferred to Christie’s in Geneva where he was in charge of international clients from Europe and South America. In 2004, the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco hired him as assistant director in charge of the opening of the new de Young Museum. Following that appointment, he joined the University of Oklahoma as the Bill and Wylodean Saxon Director of the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art.

photograph: eric h. anderson

fred jones jr. museum of art • university of oklahoma

vernet to villon: nineteenth-century french master drawings from the national gallery of art