Plan your visit. 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street, New York, NY 10016.

Plan your visit. 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street, New York, NY 10016.

Group of Peasants Resting and a Boy Drinking from a Bowl

Sébastien Bourdon
1616-1671

Group of Peasants Resting and a Boy Drinking from a Bowl

1636-37
4 15/16 x 6 5/16 inches (127 x 170 mm)
Black chalk, white opaque watercolor, on light brown laid paper; verso rubbed lightly with red chalk; traced for transfer with stylus.
1986.59

Purchased as the gift of Mrs. Charles Wrightsman.

Notes
A Protestant artist at a time of religious persecution, Bourdon fled Montpellier in 1622 after it was besieged by royal forces. He journeyed to Paris and then Rome to try his fortune. There, in the mid-1630s, he associated with other foreigners, including the Dutch artist Pieter van Laer and his followers, known for their scenes of peasants and beggars. The present drawing served as the basis for one of Bourdon's earliest etchings, The Young Boy Drinks (ca. 1636-37; see acc. no. (P)1986.59). Similar peasant scenes are also found in Bourdon's paintings from this period. -- Exhibition Label, From "Poussin, Claude, and French Drawing in the Classical Age"
Inscriptions/Markings
Watermark: none.
Inscribed at lower left, in pen and brown ink, "Bourdon"; inscribed on verso, "13", "No. 6" (canceled), and "M".
Associated names
Petit-Horry, Jacques, former owner.
Wrightsman, Jayne, donor.
Bibliography
Ryskamp, Charles, ed. Twenty-First Report to the Fellows of the Pierpont Morgan Library, 1984-1986. New York : Pierpont Morgan Library, 1989, p. 322.
Classification
Century Drawings
School
Department