The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 20, 2024

St. John the Evangelist

St. John the Evangelist

c. 1700–1702
(French, 1636–1716)
France, 18th century
black, red, and white chalk
Sheet: 42 x 26.2 cm (16 9/16 x 10 5/16 in.)
Gift of Alida di Nardo in memory of her husband, Antonio di Nardo 1956.602
Catalogue raisonné: Gustin-Gomez D.24
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

This drawing was used primarily used by La Fosse to study the drapery that covers St. John's body. A nude drawing of the same figure is in Le Havre, France.

Description

This drawing is a study for a fresco in the Parisian church of Les Invalides. The structure's four pendentives are each decorated with images of the Four Evangelists, and the Cleveland sheet relates to the design for St. John. La Fosse developed his ideas in numerous preparatory studies before beginning the final painting. He portrayed the religious figures with power and exuberance, imbuing his decorative scheme with unprecedented vigor. Drawings by La Fosse are difficult to find in the United States, and this sheet is an exceptional example of the artist's trois crayons (three-chalk) technique of using black, red, and white chalk together. The chalks are subtly blended, creating the effect of billowing drapery rather than stiff linearity.
  • ?-?
    Unknown eighteenth-century? collector
    ?-by 1877
    Rémi Valdemar Chardey [1813-1900], Le Havre
    1877
    (Hôtel Drouot, Paris, May 14-17, 1877, no. 353)
    ?-1956
    Mr. and Mrs. Antonio di Nardo, Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
    Provenance Footnotes
    1 Inventory number with flourish on verso corresponds to similar numbers on other sheets by artist; see Vercier 2000, p. 150.
    2 (On Chardey, see Vercier 2000, 136; Hedley 2001 notes that drawings by La Fosse with the Charday provenance are often in poor condition and show water damage. A pronounced water stain on the Cleveland sheet, visible in all previous photographs, was removed for this exhibition.
    3 As "vingt-six beaux Dessins au crayon noir et à la sanguine: Composition, Têtes d'expression, Études de nus et de draperies." Inscription on verso notes sheet was part of this lot.
  • Drawing Before 1800. Exh. Cat. Appleton, WI: Wooster Art Center at Lawrence University, 1968. Mentioned: no. 23
    Rosenberg, Pierre. French Master Drawings of the 17th & 18th Centuries in North American Collections. Translated by Catherine Johnston. Exh. Cat. Toronto: Art Gallery of Ontario, 1972. Mentioned and reproduced: no. 67
    Rosenberg, Pierre. "Dessins français du XVIIe et du XVIIIe siècle dans les collections américaines." L'Oeil, nos. 212-213 (August-September 1972): 10-15. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 12
    Rubenism. Exh. Cat. Providence: Brown University, 1975. Mentioned and reproduced: pp. 86-87, no. 23
    "Drawings on Exhibition." Drawing 16, no. 6 (March - April 1995): 131-133. Mentioned: p. 131
    Vercier, Paul. "Trois dessins de Charles de La Fosse pour la Chapelle du château de Versailles." Versalia 1, no. 3 (2000): 128-139. Mentioned: pp. 136-38; Reproduced: p. 136 (recto), 137 (verso)
    DeGrazia, Diane, and Carter E. Foster. Master Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Exh. Cat. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2000. Mentioned: pp. 98-99, pp. 287-88, no. 35; Reproduced: p. 99
    Hedley, Jo. "Toward a New Century: Charles de La Fosse as a Draftsman." Master Drawings 39, no. 3 (Autumn 2001): 223-259. Mentioned: p. 248, p. 258, no. 58
    Gustin-Gomez, Clémentine. Charles de La Fosse, 1636-1716: Catalogue Raisonné. Dijon: Éditions Faton, 2006. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 186, no. D.24
  • Treasures on Paper from the Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 9-June 8, 2014).
    Master Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 27-October 17, 2000); The Morgan Library & Museum, New York, NY (May 23-August 19, 2001); Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Houston, TX (October 14, 2001-January 6, 2002).
    French Drawings from the Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 13, 1994-March 12, 1995).
    Treasures on Paper. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (May 10-July 24, 1988).
    Northern European Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 16, 1982-January 9, 1983).
    French Prints and Drawings in the Age of the Bourbons, 1589-1792. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 2-May 16, 1982).
    Rubenism. David Winton Bell Gallery, Providence, RI (January 30-February 23, 1975).
    French Master Drawings of the 17th and 18th Centuries in North American Collections. Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, Legion of Honor, San Francisco, CA (September 2-October 15, 1972); Art Gallery of Ontario, Ontario M5T 1G4, Canada (organizer) (September 2-October 15, 1972); National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ont.,, Canada (November 3-December 17, 1972); The New York Cultural Center, New York, NY (April 4-May 13, 1973).
    Drawings Before 1800. Wriston Art Galleries, Lawrence University, Appleton, WI (organizer) (January 1-February 29, 1968).
    Prints and Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (May 6-September 9, 1965).
  • {{cite web|title=St. John the Evangelist|url=false|author=Charles de La Fosse|year=c. 1700–1702|access-date=20 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1956.602