This lovely book highlights key moments of the French landscape tradition from its emergence in the 1600s to its affirmation in the 1800s. The selected drawings from the Getty collection show a variety of techniques, functions, and styles, and include works by François Boucher, Jacques-Louis David, Vincent van Gogh, Jean-Baptiste Oudry, Camille Pissaro, and Georges Seurat. Together, these images reveal a fascinating tension between a passion for the real and a quest for an ideal. The author provides a general introduction to landscape drawings and brief explanations of each of the works.
Along with drawings, pages from artists' sketchbooks are also included. An exhibition of the same name will be on view at the J. Paul Getty Museum from July 28 through November 1, 2009.