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October 9, 2021 – February 13, 2022

Color into Line: Pastels from the Renaissance to the Present

Color into Line presents a powerful selection of masterpiece drawings done with pastel, one of the most versatile and adaptable media in art history. Spanning from the Renaissance to most recent artistic experimentations—from Rosalba Carriera to Mary Cassatt and Edgar Degas to John Altoon and Wayne Thiebaud—the narrative highlights technical aspects with an emphasis on the design process behind the works. Drawn mostly from the Fine Arts Museums’ own holdings in the Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts, the Museums’ department of works on paper, the exhibition celebrates the artistry of pastel through the richness of the Bay Area art collections with selected loans from local private collections and public institutions.

Image: Odilon Redon, "Orpheus," ca. 1905. Signed in red ‘ODILON REDON’ and in graphite ‘ODILON R.’ (lower right). Pastel on gray laid paper, laid down on canvas, 23 7/16 x 18 7/16 in. (59.5 x 46.8 cm). Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts, Bequest of Frederick J. Hellman, 1965.29

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Edgar Degas (French, 1834–1917), Femme s’essuyant (Seated Bather Drying Her Neck), ca. 1905–1910. Signed with the artist’s stamp (L. 658). Charcoal and pastel on two joined sheets of tracing paper, laid down on board, 27 1/16 x 22 7/8 in. (68.7 x 58.1 cm). Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Gift of Mrs. John Jay Ide, 1995.62

Mary Cassatt (American, 1844–1926), Bust of a Young Woman, ca. 1885–1890, pastel on gray discolored paper, 17 7/8 x 15 3/16 in. (42.9 x 38.6 cm). Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts, Memorial gift from Dr. T. Edward and Tullah Hanley, Bradford, Pennsylvania, 69.30.22

Rosalba Giovanna Carriera, 'Portrait of a Lady as Diana', 18th century. Pastel on laid paper, 13 3/16 x 10 13/16 in. (33.5 x 27.4 cm). Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Prentis Cobb Hale Jr., 1959.114

Jean-Baptiste Perronneau (French, 1715–1783), Portrait of a Woman, known as ‘Marquise d’Anglure,’ ca. 1781–1783, signed “Peronneau” (upper right). Pastel on paper, mounted on canvas, 24 3/16 x 19 in. (61.5 x 48.2 cm). Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Gift from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. John Jay Ide, 1996.88

Odilon Redon (French, 1840–1916), Orpheus, ca. 1905. Signed in red ‘ODILON REDON’ and in graphite ‘ODILON R.’ (lower right). Pastel on gray laid paper, laid down on canvas, 23 7/16 x 18 7/16 in. (59.5 x 46.8 cm). Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Bequest of Frederick J. Hellman, 1965.29 

From Our Blog

Anatomy of a Pastel

Learn about pastels on view in "Color into Line: Pastels from the Renaissance to the Present"