L’Espérance

Translated Print Title: 
[Hope]
Series/Book Title: 
Conférence de monsieur le Brun, premier peintre du roi ... sur l’expression générale et particulière, enrichie de figures gravées par B. Picart
Publisher: 
Amsterdam: J. L. De Lorne; Paris: E. Picart
Date(s): 
1698

In 1668, Le Brun gave a lecture before the Academy of Painting and Sculpture on the visual “expression of passions,” demonstrating how facial features are affected by strong emotions. The text was first published in 1698 by the printmaker Etienne Picart, with illustrations by his son Bernard based on Le Brun’s drawings. Translations into English and other languages followed, and throughout the eighteenth century Le Brun’s work remained an important resource for visual artists as well as for actors.

Marquand Library of Art and Archaeology.