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Source 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 <em>trois crayons</em> (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.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
134099
label
St. John the Evangelist
core
obj
dtoType
drawing
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
134099
contentType
drawing
title
St. John the Evangelist
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 <em>trois crayons</em> (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.
date
c. 1700–1702
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q80026396
creators
12815
genreSpecific
Drawing
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Sheet: 42 x 26.2 cm (16 9/16 x 10 5/16 in.)
cul
France, 18th century
accession
1956.602
Source extras
tec
black, red, and white chalk
tombstone
St. John the Evangelist, c. 1700–1702. Charles de La Fosse (French, 1636–1716). Black, red, and white chalk; sheet: 42 x 26.2 cm (16 9/16 x 10 5/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Alida di Nardo in memory of her husband, Antonio di Nardo, 1956.602
supportMaterials
description
beige(1) laid paper
collection
DR - French
inscriptions
inscription
verso, center, in brown ink: 191 [underlined with flourish]; upper left, in graphite: Lot 353 [underlined] / Hotel Drouot / Vente Chardey / 14-17 Mai/77; lower left, in graphite: C. Delafosse [underlined]
didYouKnow
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.
citations
citation
<em>Drawing Before 1800</em>. Exh. Cat. Appleton, WI: Wooster Art Center at Lawrence University, 1968.
page_number
Mentioned: no. 23
citation
Rosenberg, Pierre. <em>French Master Drawings of the 17th & 18th Centuries in North American Collections</em>. Translated by Catherine Johnston. Exh. Cat. Toronto: Art Gallery of Ontario, 1972.
page_number
Mentioned and reproduced: no. 67
citation
Rosenberg, Pierre. "Dessins français du XVIIe et du XVIIIe siècle dans les collections américaines." <em>L'Oeil</em>, nos. 212-213 (August-September 1972): 10-15.
page_number
Mentioned and reproduced: p. 12
citation
<em>Rubenism</em>. Exh. Cat. Providence: Brown University, 1975.
page_number
Mentioned and reproduced: pp. 86-87, no. 23
citation
"Drawings on Exhibition." <em>Drawing</em> 16, no. 6 (March - April 1995): 131-133.
page_number
Mentioned: p. 131
citation
Vercier, Paul. "Trois dessins de Charles de La Fosse pour la Chapelle du château de Versailles." <em>Versalia </em>1, no. 3 (2000): 128-139.
page_number
Mentioned: pp. 136-38; Reproduced: p. 136 (recto), 137 (verso)
citation
DeGrazia, Diane, and Carter E. Foster. <em>Master Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art</em>. Exh. Cat. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2000.
page_number
Mentioned: pp. 98-99, pp. 287-88, no. 35; Reproduced: p. 99
citation
Hedley, Jo. "Toward a New Century: Charles de La Fosse as a Draftsman." <em>Master Drawings</em> 39, no. 3 (Autumn 2001): 223-259.
page_number
Mentioned: p. 248, p. 258, no. 58
citation
Gustin-Gomez, Clémentine. <em>Charles de La Fosse, 1636-1716: Catalogue Raisonné</em>. Dijon: Éditions Faton, 2006.
page_number
Mentioned and reproduced: p. 186, no. D.24
catalogueRaisonne
Gustin-Gomez D.24
creditline
Gift of Alida di Nardo in memory of her husband, Antonio di Nardo
updatedAt
2026-05-29 06:51:59.247000
sourceId
134099
dept
Drawings
coll
DR - French
med
black, red, and white chalk
creatorTags
male
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
3acf78fe6520d3e7