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Study of heads after Mignard’s cupola at Val de Grac

Maker

(artist)
1642-1708

After
(artist)
1612-1695

Title

Date of Production

1600 - 1699

Medium

red, white and black chalk on buff laid paper, laid down on a historic support

Dimensions

Height: 27.5 cm
Width: 43.5 cm

Accession Number

D.1952.RW.2377

Mode of Acquisition

Robert Clermont Witt, bequest, 1952

Credit

The Courtauld, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust)

Copyright

Work in the public domain

Location

Not currently on display

Keywords

Label Text

Born into a family of artists, Michel Corneille the Younger worked for Louis XIV in Paris and Versailles. This skilfully composed study shows more than twenty graceful female heads mostly from below, drawn in preparation for ceilings or wall decorations. The rhythmic alignment of individual body parts to cover the entire sheet reflects a common practice in French workshops. Red chalk was a favoured medium as it could be easily manipulated, allowing for the elaboration of ideas on the paper.

Provenance

E. Kersley, London; purchased from him by Colnaghi (London), 18 January 1938; purchased there by Sir Robert Witt, London (1872-1952), L.2228b, 24 January 1938 (£5); Witt Bequest 1952

Exhibition History

Drawings Gallery Display - Unseen, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 15/01/2015-29/03/2015

French Drawings: XVI-XIX Centuries, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 04/07/1991-06/10/1991

Literature

Prat, Louis-Antoine, Le dessin français au XVIIe siècle, Paris 2013

Renaissance to Revolution: French drawings from the National Gallery of Art, 1500-1800, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 2009
n.1 under no. 29

Harvard University Art Museum; Art Gallery of Ontario; Musée Jacquemart-André, Paris; etc., Mastery & elegance: two centuries of French drawings from the collection of Jeffrey E. Horvitz, Cambridge, Mass. 1998
n.2 under no. 24 ...More

French Drawings: XVI-XIX Centuries, Courtauld Gallery, London, 1991
no. 10, p. 28
ill. on p. 29 ...Less

Inscriptions

Watermark: Watermark: none.

Inscription: Recto: lower right corner, red chalk, signed by the artist: “M. Corneille”. Support (historic), Recto: upper left corner, brown ink: “I”; lower right corner, brown ink: “193”. Support (historic), Verso: lower left corner: “96.22.”.

Collector's mark: Support (historic), Recto: lower left, stamped in black ink: Sir Robert Witt (L.2228b).

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