F rançois Boucher’s art, together with that of Watteau and Fragonard, defines the taste, culture and refinement of 18th-century France, and embodies an even broader, timeless essence of French-ness. Boucher was one of the greatest draughtsmen of his time, whose best drawings are object lessons in the mastery of their chalk or pen-and-ink media. His drawn work is also immensely rich and varied in subject and compositional type. The Old Master Drawings sale in New York on 25 January presents the most complete account of Boucher’s drawings to be seen at auction for a very long time: no fewer than seven outstanding drawings – most of them consigned from the Berger Collection Educational Trust, Denver – encompassing all periods, techniques and subjects. Click ahead to see the works.
