French School 1789 Fine Early Male Nude Red Chalk Drawing after Bouchardon

Description

This listing is for a striking male nude figure study, also known as an "academie," after the French master draftsman and sculptor Edme Bouchardon. The drawing is executed in chalk on laid watermarked paper and inscribed at bottom left with what appears to be Jan. 1789. The watermark reads "G W BERGMAN" below an emblem of a hunting horn surmounted by a crown.
The figure stands with left arm raised, one knee bent, his right arm fully extended to carry his weight. The treatment of contour and shadow, especially in the rendering of muscles beneath skin, lends a vital force to the work. The model seems alive as he leans into the pose and his back muscles compress. The Italian term for male academic studies comes to mind, "nudo virile," for the strength and energy of this drawing.
Bouchardon was a prolific draftsman; the Louvre, for example, has more than 800 of his drawings in their collection. Academie drawings by Bouchardon are relatively rare, however. His original drawing of this model would have been made for students at the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture when he was teaching there. It was among several of his works to be published in two volumes of academic studies in 1737 and 1745, respectively. These included original etchings by other Academy professors, including Boucher and Natoire as well as etchings after Van Loo. This drawing was Plate 41 and was etched by Pierre Soubeyran. See
Second libre de figures d’Académies gravées en partie par les professeurs de l’Académie Royale
, printed by Gabriel Huquier and published by Jombert Père.
This is a drawing and not a print. Note traces of pencil under the chalk. The drawing looks different in different light and ranges from rusty red in strong light to soft orange in indirect light. The French call these sanguine or "blood" drawings. The fine lines and hatching in the present drawing leave no doubt that it was made while referring to the published study. A group of three similar chalk drawings that were sold in 2012 support the date ascribed above - they are of the same size, drawn on the same BERGMAN watermarked paper, and are also after drawings in the Académie Royale volumes by Huquier; they are dated 1788 and 1789. See last image for this reference.
All photos are taken in natural daylight, except for the one on a black background; as such, there is some variation in color and brightness between shots.
Drawing measures approximately 9 1/2"w x 15 1/4"h. Overall good condition with some scattered dirt and surface imperfections throughout. Note minor creases and smudges, with a few small tears and losses at the edges. The top edge of the sheet appears to have been folded and has some damages but this is well above the drawing. Paper stock is thin. See images to verify condition and feel free to ask questions.
A very rare drawing created 232 years ago.
Edmé Bouchardon
(1698-1762) was France’s pre-eminent sculptor during the reign of Louis XV and is responsible for many of the masterpieces associated with the period, such as his neoclassical statues in the gardens of the Palace of Versailles, his equestrian statue of Louis XV for the Place de la Concorde (destroyed during the French Revolution), and for the Fountain of Four Seasons in Paris. A pupil of Guillaume Coustou, he won first prize in sculpture at the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture in 1722 and left the following year for Rome, where he stayed nine years before returning to Paris, much accomplished, as sculptor to the King.
Bouchardon was a virtuoso draftsman and made a celebrated series of engravings of working-class Parisians,
the Études prises dans le bas peuple
. His drawings have always been highly regarded by connoisseurs, especially Jean-Denis Lempereur and Pierre-Jean Mariette. At the time of his death in 1762, the pursuit of his drawings became a Parisian fad of sorts and by 1765, the demand was so strong that the finished red chalks of his three volumes of street occupations garnered the astronomical sum of 1235 livres; for context, prior to the sale they'd been valued at 72 livres. Although a professor at the Royal Academy, Bouchardon rarely taught there. In the Salon of 1737, his first as a contributor, Bouchardon exhibited sculpted works and a group of six drawings. This was highly unusual at the time as drawings weren't typically considered finished works worthy of exhibition. In fact, Bouchardon was likely the first artist to exhibit drawings at the Salon in a meaningful way, thus precipitating a new phase in the history of art and facilitating the emergence of drawing as a medium worthy of celebration alongside painting and sculpture.
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