MICHEL CORNEILLE THE YOUNGER
1641-170853 Studies of the Madonna and
Child and of Heads
r
Madonna and Child with Saint
John Seated in a Landscape
v
Red, black, and white chalk on blue paper (recto); pen
and brown ink, brown wash, and black chalk (verso); H:- 8 cm (i2^3 /ióin.); W: 27.2 cm (io^3 / 4 in.)
87.00. i
MARKS AND INSCRIPTIONS: (Recto) at top right corner,
inscribed Les yeux trop près du née in red chalk by the artist;
at bottom left corner, inscribed M. corneille in black
chalk.
PROVENANCE: Private collection, France; art market,
Paris.
EXHIBITIONS: None.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: None.
BOTH SIDES OF THIS SHEET ILLUSTRATE CHARACTER-
istic aspects of Corneille's draughtsmanship. Study
sheets similar to the recto, also drawn in trois crayons, are
in the Louvre (inv. 25651), the Nationalmuseum, Stock-
holm (inv. THC 4015), and the Staatliche Graphische
Sammlung (inv. 3331). As has been pointed out by G.
Gruitrooy,^1 the head of the bearded man derives from
Agostino Carracci's engraving of Saint Jerome (6.74-
n[75]v.39,i8), as does the hand along the left mar gin. The
young boy shown along the left margin appears in the
finished pen drawing on the verso, and it is probable that
the sketch of the Virgin and Child on the recto was also
made with the composition on the verso in mind. It is
amusing to note Corneille's self-critical comment at the
top right corner of the recto. The verso is drawn with
precise linearity, suggesting—along with the interior
framing lines—that it was preparatory for a print. An
analogous drawing, the Rest on the Flight into Egypt, is in
the Louvre (inv. 25408).
versoi. In conversation with G. Goldner, 1987.134 FRENCH SCHOOL • CORNEILLE THE YOUNGER