A Cardinal Examining a Painting in a Cloister

first half 19th century

Not on view

Architectural motifs often provided the point of departure for Granet’s works, and, as a devoted Catholic, he had a particular predilection for religious interiors. In this sketch, possibly a preliminary idea for a larger painting, he used a few bold pen strokes to suggest the repetitive rhythm of the columns and vaulting of a Renaissance cloister, where a cardinal has stopped among a crowd of curious monks to inspect a painting. The bright light entering through the arch at left bathes the work of art on the opposite wall and draws attention to it. Granet trained only briefly with Jacques Louis David, but the master reportedly praised his skills of "chiaroscuro and beautiful effects of light."

Artwork Details

Title: A Cardinal Examining a Painting in a Cloister
Artist: François Marius Granet (French, Aix-en-Provence 1775–1849 Aix-en-Provence)
Date: first half 19th century
Medium: Pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash, watercolor, over black chalk
Dimensions: 7 11/16 x 10 1/4 in. (19.5 x 26 cm)
Classification: Drawings
Credit Line: Harry G. Sperling Fund, 1990
Object Number: 1990.3
Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

By François Marius Granet

In the same medium

From the same time and place

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Monk Seated Before a Ruined Gateway, François Marius Granet French, Pen and brown ink, watercolor — Monk Seated Before a Ruined Gateway
François Marius Granet
n.d.

The Church of the Trinità dei Monti and the Villa Medici, Rome, François Marius Granet French, Brush and brown wash over graphite underdrawing — The Church of the Trinità dei Monti and the Villa Medici, Rome
François Marius Granet
ca. 1808

View of Notre Dame de Versailles from the plaine de Rocquencourt toward the South, François Marius Granet French, Oil on paper, mounted on canvas — View of Notre Dame de Versailles from the plaine de Rocquencourt toward the South
François Marius Granet
probably ca. 1833–47

Ponte San Rocco and Waterfalls, Tivoli, François Marius Granet French, Oil on canvas — Ponte San Rocco and Waterfalls, Tivoli
François Marius Granet
ca. 1810–20

Monks in the Cloister of the Church of Gesù e Maria, Rome, François Marius Granet French, Oil on canvas — Monks in the Cloister of the Church of Gesù e Maria, Rome
François Marius Granet
1808

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