French Drawings: Poussin to Seurat

Having escaped their customary quarters, a seditious group of drawings is hiding in plain sight among the paintings of the National Gallery of Scotland (NGS). As with The Printmaker’s Art last year, French Drawings: Poussin to Seurat, the displays work on paper, but this time they are on display mere inches from the gallery’s paintings. By reiterating the fact that artworks are products of study, modification, markets and the social conventions of their era, this diminutive exhibition places the entire gallery collection in a refreshing perspective.

In conjunction with the chronological display, supplementary information places these drawings in context. Not designed for public consumption, the delicate images betray personal preferences while also emphasising the collective, academic spirit which drove much of the art between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries.

The placement of the drawings amongst the gallery’s permanent collection of paintings permits easy comparison of an artist’s works, such as the illuminating contrast between Poussin’s fluid drawing style and his highly polished paintings of the 'Seven Sacraments'. Also, quality is not abandoned in favour of reputation, as a respectable proportion of lesser-known artists reflect more accurately the artistic scene of the period.

This combination of high standards and the capacity to offer a reflective analysis of the gallery collection is what ensures the exhibition’s success, and hopefully the NGS will continue to draw from their (perhaps overlooked) collection of paper works.