Claude Gellée dit le Lorrain (1600-1682)
Composition, depth, atmosphere and the capture of light... Claude Gellée (1600-1682) known as le Lorrain's view of nature was idealised and sensitive, but not lacking in realism. Harmony and mathematical proportion guided his strokes to give us genuine works of art in their own right: few sketches or drafts, but work of accomplished observation which made the landscape a subject in itself, and not merely a means for the artist to emphasize his own expressiveness. Just like Rubens and Rembrandt, Le Lorrain is regarded as one of the finest drawers of his time. Almost 1,200 drawings have been identified, where he predominantly used various tonalities of wash drawing, quill and ink and black drawing chalk, benefiting from a particular attention paid to the preparation of the paper. After Annibale Carracci and Domenichino, Le Lorrain established himself as the 17th century master of the classical landscape.
