Louis Boilly
1761-1845
Portrait of an Artist Seated at an Easel
18 3/4 x 16 1/16 inches (476 x 407 mm)
Black chalk with white chalk, with blending on brown paper.
1986.17
Purchased as a gift of Mrs. Landon K. Thorne, Jr.
Notes
Watermark: none visible through lining.
The artist's studio was a favorite subject of Boilly, and he often treated the theme in both paintings and drawings. An inscription on the old mount indicates that this is a self-portrait painted at Arras in 1779, though it has also been suggested that the subject's style of dress may hint at a later date. The scale of the sheet is particularly impressive, as is the skillful use of stumped black chalk. -- Exhibition Label, from "Life Lines: Portrait Drawings from Dürer to Picasso."
The artist's studio was a favorite subject of Boilly, and he often treated the theme in both paintings and drawings. An inscription on the old mount indicates that this is a self-portrait painted at Arras in 1779, though it has also been suggested that the subject's style of dress may hint at a later date. The scale of the sheet is particularly impressive, as is the skillful use of stumped black chalk. -- Exhibition Label, from "Life Lines: Portrait Drawings from Dürer to Picasso."
Inscriptions/Markings
Inscribed at lower right in graphite, "L. B.".
Associated names
Thorne, Landon K. Jr., Mrs., donor.
Bibliography
Ryskamp, Charles, ed. Twenty-First Report to the Fellows of the Pierpont Morgan Library, 1984-1986. New York : Pierpont Morgan Library, 1989, p. 320.
Artist
Classification
Century Drawings
School
Catalog link
Department