From Gelbert

Il est des destins qui se refusent à s'accomplir. Celui de From Gelbert est de ceux-là. Le coup de crayon, il l'a depuis toujours. Un don ne se discute pas. Les idées, elles, fusent chez lui en permanence. L'humour, c'est son réflexe, sa manière d'aborder la vie, sa réaction naturelle aux évènements. Sa sensibilité, elle est à fleur de peau. Il n'est jamais loin du rire ou des larmes. Alors pourquoi ? Oui, pourquoi fut-il étalagiste, puis commerçant, puis brocanteur, au lieu d'accomplir son destin : dessinateur ? Nul ne le sait, et il est le premier à l'ignorer. L'atavisme des shmatès, peut-être. Mais depuis ses BD des années 50, aux traits déjà si justes, aux cadrages si efficaces, et jusqu'à ses dessins récents, ce livre, non exhaustif, témoigne de l'artiste qui vit en lui. S'il oublie pendant plus de trois décennies le dessin (ou n'est-ce pas plutôt le dessin qui l'a oublié ? ), il reprend la plume et le trait à l'approche du XXIème siècle, et forge son style, avec, en miroir central, son propre personnage. Pas de philosophie imposée, chez From, mais néanmoins une leçon de vie offerte à tous : l'humour, pilier de la culture et de la tradition juives, est salvateur. Un monde pétri d'humour serait un monde sans guerre. Remontant le temps, ce livre chemine, suivant ses thèmes de prédilection, du From actuel au François Gelbert, adolescent dessinant ses premières (et dernières) planches.

This beautifully illustrated catalogue presents a selection of exceptional seventeenth-century Dutch drawings from the Peck Collection in the Ackland Art Museum at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Featuring many previously unpublished and rarely exhibited works, the catalogue brings together examples by some of the best-known artists of the era such as Rembrandt, Jacques de Gheyn II, Samuel van Hoogstraten, and Frans van Mieris. The collection was donated to the museum in 2017 by the late Drs. Sheldon and Leena Peck. The transformative gift is comprised of over 130 largely seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Dutch and Flemish drawings, establishing the Ackland as one of a handful of university art museums in the United States where northern European drawings can be studied in depth. Drawn to Life presents around 70 works from this exceptional and diverse group of drawings amassed by the Pecks over four decades. Featuring new research and fresh insights into seventeenth-century drawing practice, the catalogue and accompanying exhibition celebrates the creativity and technical skills of Dutch artists who explored the beauty of the natural world and the multifaceted aspects of humanity. The catalogue features a broad selection of scenes of everyday life, landscapes, biblical and historical scenes, portraits, and preparatory studies, forming a dynamic and representative group of Dutch drawings made by some of the most outstanding artists of the period, including Abraham Bloemaert, Jacob van Ruisdael, Esaias van de Velde, Bartholomeus Breenbergh, Pieter Molijn, Aelbert Cuyp, Adriaen van Ostade, Ferdinand Bol, Nicolaes Maes, Jan Lievens, Gerard ter Borch, Adriaen van de Velde, Nicolaes Berchem, and Cornelis Dusart. Key sheets of remarkable quality by lesserknown artists such as Guillam Dubois, Herman Naiwincx, Willem Romeyn, and Jacob van der Ulft, also comprise a core strength of the collection, and serve as a testament to the visual acuity of the Pecks as collectors. At the heart of the Peck Collection are several sheets by Rembrandt, including the sublime Noli me Tangere ; a beautifully rendered late landscape, Canal and Boats with a Distant View of Amsterdam ; and the superbly charming Studies of Women and Children, which was the last of Rembrandt's seventeen known drawings with an inscription in his own hand to reach a public collection. Meticulously researched and written by Robert Fucci, Ph. D. , Drawn to Life introduces both scholars and drawings enthusiasts to the depth and beauty of the Peck Collection at the Ackland Art Museum.