JACKSONVILLE, FLA.- The Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens announced its upcoming exhibition, Storytelling: French Art from the Horvitz Collection, which will be on view May 25 through July 29. This presentation combines two exhibitions from one of the world’s finest collections of French art - Imaging Text: Drawings for French Book Illustration and Seventeenth and Eighteenth-Century French Paintings. The 80 works of art created between the 16th and 19th centuries, range from mythological and biblical studies to more playful imagery, and vary in style, genre, and period. Captured in crisp and swift pen strokes, finely modulated chalk, or brilliant colors, these captivating compositions were produced by some of the most prominent artists of their time, such as Charles le Brun (1619 - 1690), Charles-Nicolas Cochin, the Younger (1715 - 1790), and Jean-Honoré Fragonard (1732 - 1806).

“It is a great opportunity for the Cummer Museum to present such an exceptional collection of French art. Printed illustrations played a major role in 18th-century French publishing, allowing many artists to gain entry into elite artistic, literary, and social worlds,” says Associate Curator Nelda Damiano. “In addition, the selection of paintings speaks to the rigorous tradition of the French Salon and the Academy. We are excited to share with our visitors examples of both these major trends.”

Renowned for its breadth and quality, the Horvitz collection has been the focus of many national and international exhibitions and scholarly publications, and it now contains nearly 2,000 drawings, paintings, and sculptures. The exhibition is curated by Alvin L. Clark, Jr., Curator, The Horvitz Collection and The J.E. Horvitz Consultative Curator, Department of Drawings, Division of European and American Art, Harvard Art Museums/Fogg. An illustrated catalogue of the drawings will be available.