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leau <strong>de</strong> Bridgewater comme l’exemple même <strong>de</strong><br />
s<strong>on</strong> « incapacité à comprendre l’essentiel dans tout<br />
ce qu’il a eu à représenter ». Et pourtant, Clau<strong>de</strong> ne<br />
manque pas <strong>de</strong> finesse d’interprétati<strong>on</strong> ni <strong>de</strong> poésie<br />
dans cette représentati<strong>on</strong> d’un Moïse qui n’a encore<br />
rien d’un patriarche mais n’est pour l’instant qu’un<br />
jeune berger 3 courant la campagne, enjambant rochers<br />
et broussailles <strong>de</strong>vant un ciel ample et parsemé<br />
d’oiseaux. Encore grisé par sa course en pleine<br />
nature, il vient d’apercevoir le buiss<strong>on</strong> ar<strong>de</strong>nt et<br />
d’entendre s<strong>on</strong> nom pr<strong>on</strong><strong>on</strong>cé et il s’agenouille<br />
brusquement <str<strong>on</strong>g>sur</str<strong>on</strong>g> une pierre, frappé <strong>de</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>sur</str<strong>on</strong>g>prise,<br />
que l’artiste restitue par le mouvement <strong>de</strong> torsi<strong>on</strong><br />
<strong>de</strong> sa main gauche et l’expressi<strong>on</strong> du visage. Sel<strong>on</strong><br />
Marcel Roethlisberger, « les treize <strong>de</strong>ssins <strong>de</strong> figures<br />
[<strong>de</strong> l’album Wil<strong>de</strong>nstein], d<strong>on</strong>t plusieurs s<strong>on</strong>t en<br />
rapport avec <strong>de</strong>s peintures majeures pour <strong>de</strong>s familles<br />
papales ou princières, s<strong>on</strong>t sans parallèle en<br />
nombre et en qualité 4 ».<br />
La poésie bucolique qui se dégage <strong>de</strong>s œuvres <strong>de</strong><br />
Clau<strong>de</strong> Gellée n’a pas échappé à ses c<strong>on</strong>temporains<br />
mais l’artiste n’acceptait qu’excepti<strong>on</strong>nellement <strong>de</strong><br />
vendre ou <strong>de</strong> d<strong>on</strong>ner ses <strong>de</strong>ssins. Ici, Moïse est très<br />
proche <strong>de</strong> la figure du tableau, mais le buiss<strong>on</strong> ar<strong>de</strong>nt<br />
est à peine visible <str<strong>on</strong>g>sur</str<strong>on</strong>g> la gauche. Le paysage<br />
est cadré différemment et le <strong>de</strong>ssin porte <strong>de</strong>s traits<br />
d’encadrement tracés par l’artiste, ce qui témoigne<br />
<strong>de</strong> sa vol<strong>on</strong>té <strong>de</strong> faire du <strong>de</strong>ssin une image aut<strong>on</strong>ome<br />
du tableau, d’ailleurs réalisé un an plus tard.<br />
Il ne s’agit d<strong>on</strong>c pas d’une reprise du pers<strong>on</strong>nage,<br />
mais d’une étape antérieure dans le processus <strong>de</strong><br />
créati<strong>on</strong> <strong>de</strong> l’œuvre peinte, d’une réflexi<strong>on</strong> <strong>de</strong>ssinée<br />
<str<strong>on</strong>g>sur</str<strong>on</strong>g> la figure <strong>de</strong> Moïse représenté au moment <strong>de</strong><br />
sa révélati<strong>on</strong>.<br />
163), Apollo and the Sybil (L.V. 164), Demosthenes<br />
<strong>on</strong> the Sea-shore (L.V. 171). He was <strong>on</strong>e of the<br />
two patr<strong>on</strong>s appointed in the artist’s will to receive<br />
his legacies. Other drawings c<strong>on</strong>nected with the<br />
painting are in the collecti<strong>on</strong> of Duke of Dev<strong>on</strong>shire<br />
in Chatsworth (n° 872 and 938) and in the Royal<br />
Collecti<strong>on</strong> in Windsor Castle (n° 13082). A copy of<br />
L.V. 161 was ma<strong>de</strong> by Clau<strong>de</strong> himself for the Jesuit<br />
priest Lazzaro Sorba, as well as a copy of Tobias<br />
and the Angel drawn in 1663. Both of them are<br />
in the Kupferstichkabinett in Staatliche Museen in<br />
Berlin (n° 1472 and 1473).<br />
This beautiful drawing focuses <strong>on</strong> the figure of Moses<br />
and it reminds that Clau<strong>de</strong> was often – wr<strong>on</strong>gly –<br />
assumed to c<strong>on</strong>si<strong>de</strong>r figures as mere accessories<br />
– or even excuses for – landscape painting. John<br />
Ruskin cited the Bridgewater painting as a proof<br />
of Clau<strong>de</strong>’s “incapacity of un<strong>de</strong>rstanding the main<br />
point in anything he had to represent”. And yet this<br />
<strong>de</strong>picti<strong>on</strong> of Moses – shown as a young 3 shepherd<br />
running in the fields, hopping over rocks and bushes<br />
un<strong>de</strong>r the wi<strong>de</strong> sky scattered with flying birds,<br />
with nothing that suggests yet the future patriarch<br />
that he will become – lacks neither refinement of<br />
interpretati<strong>on</strong> nor poetry. Still inebriated by nature,<br />
he sud<strong>de</strong>nly sees the burning bush and hears his<br />
name called out, and struck by <str<strong>on</strong>g>sur</str<strong>on</strong>g>prise, which<br />
is expressed by his twisted left hand and facial<br />
expressi<strong>on</strong>, he kneels <strong>on</strong> a rock. According to Marcel<br />
Roethlisberger, “the thirteen figure drawings [from<br />
the Wil<strong>de</strong>nstein album], several of which relate to<br />
the major paintings for papal and princely families,<br />
are without parallel in number and quality” 4 .<br />
Pastoral poetry with which Clau<strong>de</strong> imbued his works<br />
did not escape his c<strong>on</strong>temporaries but the artist <strong>on</strong>ly<br />
occasi<strong>on</strong>ally agreed to sell or offer his drawings.<br />
The figure of Moses in the present drawing is highly<br />
reminiscent to that in the painting, but the burning<br />
bush is barely visible <strong>on</strong> the left. The landscape is<br />
centred differently and there are framing lines in<br />
pen and ink ma<strong>de</strong> by Clau<strong>de</strong>, which shows that<br />
he inten<strong>de</strong>d the drawing as an in<strong>de</strong>pen<strong>de</strong>nt work<br />
of art, aut<strong>on</strong>omous from the painting which he<br />
executed <strong>on</strong>ly a year later. Therefore, the figure is<br />
not a ricordo of the painted <strong>on</strong>e but bel<strong>on</strong>gs to an<br />
earlier stage of the creati<strong>on</strong> process in preparati<strong>on</strong><br />
for the painting and bears testim<strong>on</strong>y to Clau<strong>de</strong>’s<br />
drawn reflecti<strong>on</strong> of the figure of Moses shown at the<br />
moment of revelati<strong>on</strong>.<br />
83