Friday, January 1, 2016

Portraits of trees by Claude Lorrain, 17th century

Claude Lorrain
Trees
ca. 1650
wash drawing
British Museum

This group of tree drawings by Claude Lorrain (1600-1682) provided me with a sufficient motive to leave the house just after sunrise on this bright cold New Year's Day. Earlier in the week I had walked past a startling example of an actual Claude Lorrain tree-clump in Golden Gate Park. There it stood in the middle of San Francisco, like a time-traveler from 17th-century Rome. On the day I saw this unexpected sight I did not have a camera, but I took one along this morning to prove that the mystical resemblance was no fantasy.

Laurels
Golden Gate Park
1 January 2016

Claude Lorrain
Pine tree
1665
drawing
British Museum

Claude Lorrain
Tree
ca. 1640-50
drawing
British Museum

Claude Lorrain
Trees and dancers
ca. 1660-65
drawing
British Museum

Claude Lorrain
Trees on pink paper
ca. 1650
drawing
British Museum

Claude Lorrain
Tree at Villa Madama
ca. 1638
drawing
British Museum
 
Claude Lorrain
Tree
ca. 1635
drawing
British Museum

Claude Lorrain
Farm buildings
ca. 1640
drawing
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford

Claude Lorrain
Landscape with river
ca/ 1655
drawing
British Museum

Claude Lorrain
Trees
ca. 1645
drawing
British Museum

Claude Lorrain
View with trees
ca. 1638-40
drawing
British Museum

Claude Lorrain
Landscape with trees
ca. 1638
drawing
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford

Claude Lorrain
Landscape with pine grove
ca. 1635-38
wash drawing
British Museum