Enfilade

Looking ahead to the summer at Dulwich:

Prud’hon: Napoleon’s Draughtsman
Dulwich Picture Gallery, London, 23 June — 15 November 2015

In coordination with London’s celebrations surrounding the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo, Dulwich Picture Gallery presents Prud’hon: Napoleon’s Draughtsman, the first UK exhibition devoted to Pierre-Paul Prud’hon (1758–1823), a painter and draughtsman who, through his distinctive and unconventional vision, emerged as one of the most exceptional talents working in post-Revolutionary Paris.

Pierre-Paul Prud’hon, Seated Nude with Arm Extended, black and white chalk on blue-tinted (Gray: Le Musée Baron Martin)

A selection of 13 works on paper will celebrate Prud’hon as court artist to Napoleon and Joséphine Bonaparte and as one of France’s greatest draughtsmen. The display will focus on the artist’s extraordinary life studies in white and black chalk, remarkable for their ethereal forms, subtlety of light and shade, and mastery of expression. Whether sketched quickly or finished to perfection, the drawings reveal Prud’hon’s working processes, exploring the constant experimentation that led to the unique blend of Romantic expression and Neoclassical forms that marked him out amongst his contemporaries.

Prud’hon, unlike many of his contemporaries, drew from the live model throughout his career giving him the freedom to focus on certain forms or details without the confines of specific commissions. His drawings, which range from preparatory studies for interior decoration to allegorical compositions (conveying meaning through symbolic figures, actions, imagery, and events) not only demonstrate his incredible skill but also provide a sense of contact with the heart and mind of the artist. On his preferred medium of thick blue paper you can catch a glimpse of his ideas unfolding beneath his chalk, an expression of his thoughts at the moment of creation.

◊  ◊  ◊  ◊  ◊

Known for its outstanding collection of drawings, pastels, and prints by Pierre-Paul Prud’hon, the Musée Baron Martin in Gray is housed in an eighteenth-century château (refurbished between 1777 and 1783), built on the site of a medieval fortress (the fourteenth-century tower remains). More information is available here.