Last Friday we made it to the Louvre for the first nocturne in a long time and we took the time to visit a temporary exhibit of work by Eugène Isabey from the Louvre’s collections. This selection of work focused on his sketches of the Normandy and Brittany coasts and rural villages. Most of the work presented was graphite with watercolor and gouache and what mesmerized me were his brush strokes. I’ve always loved pieces that were not so perfected as to hide the hand of the artist and in this exhibit Isabey’s voice rings clear in his frank and sure hand through his paint brush. But I’ll let the works speak for themselves, here is a selection of details (not entire sketches) that I particularly loved for their marks.
(above: oil on canvas)
The light was not helping for the viewing (or photographing) of this last one but I had to include this detail despite the ghosting of the image. Here he has laid down charcoal over graphite and then ‘etched’ the forms from the black. This detail shows two baskets (center, 2/3’s down) laying on the shore at the base of a ship(top left) among the rocks (bottom right). I have to try this technique!
The show runs through the 17th of September and I definitely need to get back at least one more time. If you’re in Paris, try to find the time to go see it!
xo,
A.
egg & dart 