Pierre Jean Mariette (1694–1774) brought together one of the most fascinating collections in the whole of the 18th century, particularly showcasing drawings, with some 9,600 sheets. Masterpieces by great artists stood alongside pieces of bravura by minor masters, in line with the encyclopedic commitment of this “genius jack-of-all-trades” in his effort to perfectly summarize the history of drawing, from its origins through contemporary artists. Following on from Pierre Rosenberg’s 2011 publication of the first two volumes devoted to French drawings from the Mariette Collection, the publication of a catalogue raisonné of Italian drawings likewise accompanies this exhibition of some one hundred of the most remarkable Mariette sheets from this school: works by the greatest Italian artists, including Raphael, Michelangelo, Titian, Veronese, Carracci, Guido Reni, and Guercino, have been taken from several Parisian collections, first and foremost that of the Musée du Louvre.
