Study of a Tree in the Luxembourg Gardens

Pierre Henri de Valenciennes

1773 · Red chalk · Drawings and Prints

Valenciennes was a central figure in the development of landscape painting in French art, effectively elevating its status through his promotion of the "historical landscape." According to his writings, such constructed scenes should be based on the direct study of nature. This recently acquired sheet was made, according to the inscription, in the Luxembourg Gardens in Paris when the artist was only twenty-three years old. He does not represent the setting but rather focuses on a single tree with gnarled and interlocking branches, each twist, knot, and broken branch chronicling the incidents and losses of an eventful life.

Artist

Pierre Henri de Valenciennes

Date

1773

Medium

Red chalk

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Purchase, The Isaacson-Draper Foundation Gift, 2014