Drawing an Elusive Line

Often represented as an apathetic history painter, Prud'hon nevertheless parlayed both his remarkable talents as a draftsman and his skillful sense of diplomacy to attain conventional success. Nevertheless, he also followed an idiosyncratic artistic agenda. Drawing an Elusive Line brings his consistent subversion of academic demands into focus. Moreover, the book explores Prud'hon's prescient comprehension of a dawning art market among the newly powerful middle class while tracing the sources of his more traditional imperial patronage.