Hubert François Gravelot

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Hubert François Gravelot
1699-1773
Laissez faire mon fils
ca. 1767
Pen and black ink over graphite, on paper; incised with the stylus.
5 1/2 x 3 5/16 inches (139 x 85 mm)
Gift of John F. Fleming.
1968.15:26
Notes: 

Gravelot's drawing is preparatory for an engraved frontispiece to Act IV of Beaumarchais' five act play “Eugénie” (Paris : Merlin, 1767). Several figures are shown gathered in a room; at center a gentleman armed with a sword rushes towards a man standing on the left, as two other men attempt to intercede. See 1968.15:27 for another preparatory drawing by Gravelot for this scene, which was ultimately engraved by Jean Charles Le Vasseur (1734-1816).

Inscription: 

Drawing captioned "Laissez faire mon fils" and signed at bottom "H. Gravelot inven."

Provenance: 
Marie-Joseph-Colombe-Henri-Denis Beccaria de Pavie, Marquis de Fourquevaux (1762-1841), Fourquevaux, France; Emmanuel Bocher (1835-1919), Paris; Léon Olry-Roederer (1869-1932), Paris; A.S.W. Rosenbach (1876-1952), Philadelphia; John Fleming (1910-1987), New York.
Associated names: 

Fourquevaux, Joseph de Beccarie de Pavie, marquis de, 1762-1841, former owner.
Bocher, Emmanuel, 1835-1919, former owner.
Olry-Roederer, Léon, 1869-1932, former owner.
Rosenbach, A. S. W. (Abraham Simon Wolf), 1876-1952, former owner.
Fleming, John F. (John Francis), 1910-1987, former owner.

Bibliography: 

Kraemer, Ruth S. "Drawings by Gravelot in the Morgan Library." Master drawings, XX (Spring 1982), p. 10, no. 23.

Catalog link: 
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Artist page: 
Gravelot, Hubert François
School: 
French
Century: 
18th century
Classification: 
Drawing
Department: 
Drawings and Prints