LAGNEAU (CIRCA 1590-1660)

In keeping with the French 16th Century drawing portrait tradition of trois crayons, Lagneau made use of black and red pastel to outline the sitter’s features, while he used stumping for a more nebulous backdrop (for a discussion of the technique see M. Préaud, Lagneau, exhib cat. Chantilly, Musée Condé, 2005, p. 17 and p. 32). In the 19th Century important collectors of drawings played a great part in rediscovering Lagneau’s draftsmanship, among them were the Marquis de Chennevières (1820-1899), the Duc d’Aumale (1822-1897) and Eugène Rodrigues (1853-1928), all of whom gathered important groups of the artist’s works.