Seventeenth Century French Paintings

The National Gallery possesses an outstanding collection of French seventeenth-century paintings, in part a reflection of the enthusiasm with which British collectors once acquired the works of Poussin and Claude, thirteen of whose paintings were in the collection within ten years of the Gallery's opening in 1824. These included such well-known works as Claude's Seaport with the Embarkation of Saint Ursula and Poussin's Bacchanalian Revel before a Term. In more recent years other important works by these two French masters have been added, for example Poussin's Annunciation and Claude's Enchanted Castle.Since 1957, when Martin Davies published The French School, an unprecedented amount of research has been undertaken on French seventeenth-century artists. Taking account of this, Humphrey Wine has written afresh on the seventeenth-century paintings in Davies's catalogue; he has also written detailed entries on all subsequent acquisitions in this field. These include, as well as paintings by Claude and Poussin, major pictures such as La Hyre's Allegory of Grammar, the Le Nain brothers' Adoration of the Shepherds and Le Sueur's Alexander and his Doctor.New research and information based on the re-examination of each picture are combined with full-page colour illustrations of every painting, as well as details, technical photographs and comparative illustrations. The introductory essay provides an account of the collecting of French paintings of the seventeenth century in England from that time until the recent past. An invaluable reference for seventeenth-century French painting, this catalogue also provides the opportunity for a closer look at some of the most beautiful paintings in the Gallery's collection.