From Poussin to David French Drawings in the Albertina

From poetic love stories to mythological epics; from painterly portrait studies to picturesque ruins _ the French world s of the Baroque and the Rococo have lost nothing of their fascination. 70 exquisite major works from the wealth of French artworks at the Albertina seduce the public with the dazzling and multi - faceted cosmos of French drawing. By means of im pressive examples the catalogue provides a varied insight into the diverse graphic means of expression during this age, in which France developed into the trend - setting nation in the field of art. The exhibition links together the most influential artists of the seventeenth century and the outstanding graphic artists of the eighteenth century. It shows not only Nicolas Poussin_s effective landscape studies but also Claude Lorrain_s light - filled portraits of nature. Virtuoso and elegant masterpieces by Franç ois Boucher and Jean - Honoré Fragonard are placed alongside the moralising genre scenes by Jean - Baptiste Greuze and an imposing creation by Jacques - Louis David