Introduction
In his own lifetime Claude Gellée, known as Claude Lorrain (or more simply as Claude), was recognized as one of the finest masters of landscape painting. His serene, intensely poetic vision of “classical” landscape became a model for his many followers up to and even after the Impressionist era. Claude was able to combine the perfect grandeur of an idealized ancient world with impressions of a real, personally experienced nature. He attained this lofty accomplishment through his highly skilled handling of light and his incorporation of elements studied from life.
The Louvre and the Teylers Museum in Haarlem have jointly organized this exhibition. The quality and variety of works on show will offer a complete overview of Claude’s drawing techniques. All his various approaches are represented, from studies done from life to drawings of the Roman monuments and buildings of his day, to rapid sketches of animals and figures, not forgetting the large, finished drawings in which he developed religious and mythological compositions. This selection will reveal not only Claude’s love of the art of drawing, but also the way he prepared his masterful oil paintings.
The Louvre and the Teylers Museum in Haarlem have jointly organized this exhibition. The quality and variety of works on show will offer a complete overview of Claude’s drawing techniques. All his various approaches are represented, from studies done from life to drawings of the Roman monuments and buildings of his day, to rapid sketches of animals and figures, not forgetting the large, finished drawings in which he developed religious and mythological compositions. This selection will reveal not only Claude’s love of the art of drawing, but also the way he prepared his masterful oil paintings.