GRÉGOIRE HURET | A frontispiece design: 'Viridarium sacrae ac profanae eruditionis'

E. Brugerolles and D. Guillet, 'Grégoire Huret, dessinateur et graveur' in Revue de L'art, no. 117, 1997, pp. 12-14, reproduced p. 13, fig. 5;
L.-A. Prat, Le Dessin Français au XVIIe siècle, Paris 2013, p. 219, fig. 500

Attached to the mount at the right margin only. Overall in fairly good condition. There is a horizontal crease running across the centre of the sheet. Tiny brown stains located at the lower left margin. There are two small holes/tears in the upper section of the sheet, on the left side, at the level of the angel's drapery. Otherwise red chalk is vibrant and overall image is strong.
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This grand and impressive drawing is a preparatory study for the frontispiece to Viridarium sacrae ac profanae eruditionis (fig. 1), a text written by the Jesuit Father, Francisco de Mendoça, and published in 1632 by Jacques Cardon, six years after the author's death. During Huret's time in Lyon he was principally active as an illustrator, specialising in designs for frontispieces, often responding to commissions from the Compagnie de Jésus.  In this splendid drawing, the Jesuit Father is commemorated in the lower section of the sheet, in the centre, depicted in ecclesiastical attire.  The attractive combination of red chalk and wash not only serves the aesthetics of the overall drawing but works together to create wonderful tonal effects, lending to the drapery of the two repoussoir figures a sumptuous tactile quality and also enhancing the clever perspective employed in the tree-lined garden in the upper section of the sheet.  There are some differences between the drawing and the final print, most notably the angel, who is in flight over the garden in the red chalk study, but who appears in a niche in the published engraving.

The present drawing gives us a fascinating insight into Huret's working methods and demonstrates the great detail that went into the preparatory stages of his frontispiece designs.