Jean de La Barrière blessing a cardinal
Medium
Red chalk, pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash, heightened with white, over graphite
Dimensions
Sheet: 20 15/16 × 17 7/16 in. (53.2 × 44.3 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harry G. Sperling Fund, 1992
Accession Number
1992.246.9
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the early 18th century, artist Matthieu Elias created striking preparatory drawing titled *Jean de La Barrière Blessing a Cardinal* in 1706. It depicts the Reverend Jean de La Barrière, a prominent French abb and reformer closely associated with Saint Francis de Sales, in a moment of solemn benediction over a cardinal. This religious scene captures the spiritual authority and piety of the Counter-Reformation era, when such imagery reinforced the Catholic Church's influence amid Europe's religious tensions. Executed on a large sheet (over 20 by 17 inches), the showcases Elias's mastery of m...
About the Artist
Matthieu Elias|Reverend Jean de la Barrière (French|French) · 1658 |1544 –1741 |1600
French, Peene 1658–1741 Dunkerque|French, Saint-Céré 1544–1600 Rome