Die französischen Zeichnungen der Albertina. Barock bis Rokoko

The Albertina possesses one of the richest and most outstanding collections of French drawings outside of France. The major part of its French holdings goes back to Duke Albert von Sachsen-Teschen, the founder of the Albertina, and his activity as a collector of graphic art. In 1993, when the early French drawings of the 16th and beginning 17th centuries were published in the first volume of a catalogue raisonné, it was for the first time that the French holdings of the Albertina had been made the subject of comprehensive scientific research and were going to be listed in their entirity. The present manuscript, including about 900 works, prepares the second volume of the Albertina`s French drawings for publication. It is going to contain drawings by about 60 artists from the 17th and early 18th centuries. The works have been ordered according to generations of artists, each section being introduced by a brief biography. Basic information on each drawing includes technical data, provenance and a full bibliography. The individual catalogue entries either try to confirm traditional attributions or to give reasons for reattributions, to place works chronologically within an artist`s oeuvre, and to establish references to executed works as far as this was possible. In case no definite attributions could be made, the sheets were either assigned to an artist`s circle or workshop or are dealt with in a separate chapter dedicated to anonymous drawings. The computer manuscript of the second volume of the catalogue raisonné of French drawings in the Albertina describes sheets by such well-known artists as Pierre Mignard, Antoine Watteau, Jacques Oudry and many other draughtsmen that may not yet have acquired notoriety as artists but whose works allow us to draw a comprehensive historical picture, primarily of the epoch of Louis XIV, without our gaze being diverted by the highlights of French drawing. For reasons of methodology it has turned out necessary to include also artists already devoted to the spirit of Rococo, so that the envisaged second volume offers a highly diversified impression of French draughtsmanship that does not only reflect the era of Louis XIV and the subsequent Régence period but also the beginnings of Rococo style. Besides a broad range of subject matter such as historical and genre painting as well as portrait and landscape art, the catalogue also presents different drawing stages and techniques: Sketches and studies are presented side by side to highly-finished drawings; sheets in red and black chalk compete with pen-and-wash drawings and watercolours. Finally, the volume includes also replicas and copies, which may not be of primary interest to collectors but which are often helpful to scholars when it comes to identifying lost originals. Apart from its variety of techniques and genres, the catalogue also offers a good survey of different centres of artistic activity in the 17th century: While a local school of engravers that subsequently was to conquer Paris was emerging in Lorraine, a regional movement of artists was developing in the south of France that only hesitatingly adopted influences coming from the capital. In addition, international exchange with other art regions is also considered; besides the traditional link to Rome one can observe mutual stimulation between France and Amsterdam, London, Berlin and Saint Petersburg As far as provenance research is concerned, it was found out that many drawings come from other sources than Duke Albert`s collection. In this respect, the Imperial Library, with sheets acquired from the collections of Madame de Bandville and Prince Eugene, turned out to be of specific importance. Eventually, in 1919, its holdings were combined with those of Duke Albert, whose acquisitions partially go back to the Prince de Ligne and Gottfried Winckler.