Beschreibung:
Jean Démosthène Dugoure and historical drawing during the second half of the eighteenth century. Today, Jean Démosthène Dugoure (1749-1825) is best known for his activities as a decorator. But he is also the author of three drawings of historical subjects, undertaken between 1775 and 1777, and held today by the Ecole nationale supérieure des beaux-arts (donation Mathias Polakovits). These compositions, entitled, Le souper d’Henri IV à Coutras, Léonard de Vinci mourant dans les bras de François Ier, and L’hommage rendu au maréchal de Catinat après la victoire de la Marsaille, date from before the earliest paintings based on themes drawn from French national history, paintings inspired by the cultural instructions given by the comte d’Angiviller : works such as Les honneurs funèbres rendus à Du Guesclin, by Nicolas Guy Brenet (1777). Dugoure’s works show a greater attachment to historical authenticity than do those of Ménageot, and depict episodes which evoke useful, edifying and moralistic values. Unlike « troubadour » painting, which is on the lookout for emotional and touching scenes, Dugoure’s « anecdotal » art wants to be improving. The heroes he exalts are all models of humanity, of which various writings of the years 1760 to 1770 had already underlined the exemplarity. Dugoure’s case is probably not an isolated one. It is necessary to show greater attention to the historical drawings of the late eighteenth century. They are one of the richest means of expression for iconographical innovation.