A Cardinal Examining a Painting in a Cloister

François Marius Granet French

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."

A Cardinal Examining a Painting in a Cloister, François Marius Granet (French, Aix-en-Provence 1775–1849 Aix-en-Provence), Pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash, watercolor, over black chalk

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A Cardinal Examining a Painting in a Cloister, François Marius Granet (French, Aix-en-Provence 1775–1849 Aix-en-Provence), Pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash, watercolor, over black chalk
A Cardinal Examining a Painting in a Cloister, François Marius Granet (French, Aix-en-Provence 1775–1849 Aix-en-Provence), Pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash, watercolor, over black chalk

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