Kimbell Art Museum
3333 Camp Bowie Blvd (Fort Worth)
Tel (817) 332-8451

www.kimbellart.org

During a period when draftsmanship was practiced primarily as an academic exercise, François Boucher (1703–1770) was one of the few artists who continuously drew for his own edification, often with the intent of using his studies for painted compositions. This comprehensive exhibition is the first of Boucher’s drawings in over 25 years. Comprised of approximately 80 sheets—many never before seen in the United States—the exhibition reveals to a new generation of viewers the artist’s extraordinary technique and style, as well as the wide variety of his subject matter. His drawings include figural studies and nudes, which exhibit an intensive study of the human form; mythological and biblical scenes; portraits; landscapes, which he often embellished with imaginary structures; animals; intimate, interior decorative schemes, such as those he produced at the Hôtel de Soubise in Paris around 1736; and designs for Beauvais tapestries and the Opéra stage.