Dessins Français Du Xixe Siècle

Exhibition at the Fondation Custodia, Paris, 8 October 2022 - 8 January 2023

Although the 19th century collection initiated by Frits Lugt (1884 - 1970) was initially made up of significant single sheets (Millet's Young Gleaner, Ribot's Portrait of Victor Hugo on his Deathbed), the Fondation Custodia then set about developing it along several lines, highlighted in this exhibition catalogue of its own collection.

The sheets are presented in a chronological order that highlights various themes in turn: natural observation at the beginning of the century (Michel Mandevare, Jean Antoine Constantin), the variety of techniques, the romantic feeling, the realism of the Parisian milieu (Auguste Péquégnot, Gabriel Prieur), the freshness of colour of the watercolourists (Paul Huet, Henri Joseph Harpignies), the inventiveness and poetry of the artists of the middle of the century (Gavarni, Gustave Doré), and the lyrical impressions of the most modern artists (Pierre Prins, August Cabuzel).

The book presents 140 works by major French artists (Ingres, Delacroix, Corot, Rosa Bonheur, Isaby and the Flandrin brothers) and brings to the forefront talents that were famous in their time, unjustly forgotten today (Achille Benouville, Eugène Buttura, Lionel Le Couteux) or totally unknown (Caroline de Fontenay, Charles Eustache), thus demonstrating the high quality of this collection, eclectic but coherent, heir to the tastes of its creator.