Reviews #4
Impressionists on Paper (25 Nov 2023 – 10 Mar 2024)
The Royal Academy, London
reviewed by Nigel Ip (Print Quarterly)
Image: Mary Cassatt, Portrait de Marie-Thérèse Gaillard, 1894. Pastel on paper, 51 x 54 cm. Private collection. Photo: © 2007 Christie’s Images Limited
In the eight Impressionist exhibitions held in Paris between 1874 and 1886, works on paper outnumbered oil paintings; this is rarely the case for modern displays exploring this period. Impressionists on Paper: Degas to Toulouse-Lautrec at the Royal Academy of Arts revitalises their interest for a general audience, keeping captions to a minimum so we can contemplate the visual impact of their material qualities.
Featuring 77 drawings across three large rooms, there are pastel seascapes from Claude Monet, chalk figure studies by Camille Pissarro and Paul Cézanne, and, of course, a reed pen landscape from Vincent van Gogh. Five drawings comprehensively encapsulate the latter’s draughtsmanship, including The Fortifications of Paris with Houses (1887) which was stolen from the Whitworth in 2003.
Some categories, such as fan designs, are almost exclusive to works on paper. Inspired by Japanese fan prints (uchiwa-e) and the French Rococo, artists like Jean-Louis Forain and Paul Gauguin experimented with this unique compositional format. Watercolour and gouache ensured their designs remained bold and vibrant.
A constant throughout the exhibition is Edgar Degas’ unwavering capacity to combine different types of media to great effect. In Ludovic Halévy Finds Madame Cardinal in the Dressing Room (1876-77), drawing and printmaking cross paths in a monotype embellished with coloured pastels and graphite. The hang also highlights the grand scale of Degas’ ballet dancers, some two or three times larger than the other exhibited works. Additionally, his preference for coloured backgrounds comes across in the pink and green supports of Dancer Seen from Behind (c.1873) and Dancer Yawning (Dancer Stretching) (1873).
Of the many drawing media represented, some felt new or unexpected. Essence, a form of diluted oil paint, was popular with Degas and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec for its fast drying times and matte appearance. In Toulouse-Lautrec’s Woman with a Black Boa (1892), essence resembles gouache when thickly applied, and a dry wash when used lightly. Furthermore, historic media like tempera and leadpoint formed Pissarro’s and Edouard Manet’s arsenal, respectively.
Some groupings were especially enlightening, as in the wall of Georges Seurat’s monochrome drawings. Comparing his black Conté crayon study for the Bathers at Asnières (1884) with The Gleaners (c.1882), one can really appreciate the medium’s transition from a rough texture to a smokey aesthetic. However, charcoal still does this best, exemplified by Albert Lebourg’s The Artist’s Wife and Mother-in-law Reading a Letter by Candlelight (c.1878-79) with its strong contrasts and soft tonal gradations.
Finally, the allure of coloured pastels is hard to resist. For example, the carefully built up, blended layers of Mary Cassatt’s Portrait of Marie-Thérèse Gaillard (1894), Federico Zandomeneghi’s Waking Up (1895), and Jacques-Emile Blanche’s Portrait of Madame Henri Wallet (1887). The exhibition is worth it for this trio alone.
