Study for Raising of Lazarus

Verdier was a prize-winning student at the Royal Academy at Paris which resulted in his election as an academician in 1678. In 1685, he was married to a niece of Charles Le Brun (1619–90), first painter to King Louis XIV, director of the Royal Academy and the Gobelins tapestry factory, and, in effect, the dictator of French artistic life until his death. Verdier received from Le Brun major commissions for the Trianon at Versailles and Gobelins. After 1699, Verdier devoted himself to drawing and engraving. Verdier’s drawing of a kneeling woman, dating about 1677, is a study for a figure in a painting The Raising of Lazarus for the church of Notre-Dame, Paris. It epitomizes the manner dictated by the Royal Academy. Importance was attached to clear, distinct forms. Bold strokes of red chalk on tan paper define the contours of the figure. Precise parallel red chalk strokes impart volume and plasticity to the drapery. Subtle passages of white chalk achieve the highlights.