Israël Silvestre is one of the French artists of the Baroque period who is mostly known for his engravings. Even though his engravings have circulated worldwide, most people do not know much about his drawings. From March 15th, 2018 to June 25th, 2018, you will have an opportunity to see his drawings up-close at the Louvre in Paris in an exhibition titled “France Viewed from the Grand-Siècle Drawings-by Israël Silvestre (1621–1691)”. The Louvre museum is a home to an extraordinary collection of Silvestre’s drawings which are being shown to the masses for the very first time through this exhibition.
Israël Silvestre first trained to engrave from another well-known artist called Jacques Callot. After successfully gaining engraving skills, he quickly transitioned to the cityscape. His meticulous early cityscapes that portrayed different European locations are small scale while the depictions of Paris that he released, later on, are panoramic and broader. His early views were of the native Nancy as well the cities that he went through on a number of journeys that he made between Rome and Paris.
When you take a look at Silvestre’s mature works, what you will see is a broader view of the capital of France, including its royal festivities as well as the changes that it was going through during that period of time. His mature works also outline the cities that Louis XIV conquered in Lorraine and the Ardennes. Additionally, he devoted his series to the amazing Ile de France châteaux, something that brought an entirely fresh perspective to gardens and architecture.
You can visit the Louvre museum in Paris any day of the week, including weekends but except Tuesdays, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The museum is also open on Wednesdays and Fridays at night until 9:45 p.m. So if you have time between March 15th, 2018 and June 25th, 2018, make sure that you visit it for this probably once in a lifetime opportunity.