Reform to Restoration: French Drawings from Louis XVI to Louis XVIII (1770-1830)

Reform to Restoration: French Drawings from Louis XVI to Louis XVIII (1770-1830) presents over eighty master drawings from The Horvitz Collection, the preeminent private collection of French art in the United States, and showcases some of the most well-known artists of the period, including Jacques-Louis David, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, and Pierre-Paul Prud’hon. Working in a time of tremendous political and social upheaval in France, artists looked to the art, architecture, and literature of ancient Greece and Rome for inspiration and used stories from antique history and mythology as well as current events and contemporary theater to convey moral and civic values during a period of great uncertainty. Arranged in thematic groupings devoted to the concepts of patriotism, love, honor, conflict, and despair, the works on display demonstrate the intellectual curiosity of late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century French artists as well as the expressive versatility and powerful immediacy of drawings.

Add to your experience of the art on view with fabulous French music, do-it-yourself F.A.M. activities, drawing in the galleries, and more.

Curator’s Introductory Tour
Saturday, July 22, 2023 | 11 a.m.
A guided tour of Reform to Restoration led by Dana Cowen, Sheldon Peck Curator for European and American Art before 1950. Space is limited; free ticket required.

Take Two Tour
Friday, September 8, 2023 | 2 p.m.
Carolyn Allmendinger (Director of Education and Interpretation, Ackland Art Museum) and Max Owre (Carolina Public Humanities Executive Director and French History scholar) will tour Reform to Restoration with attendees, highlighting select pieces from their different professional points of view. There will be insights, tidbits, and possible (friendly) debate. Space is limited; free ticket required.

Music in the Galleries
September 17, 2023 | 2 p.m.
Join members of the UNC Baroque Ensemble, under the direction of Brent Wissick, for an intimate art-inspired concert of French classical music by Joseph du Boulogne, also known as the Chevalier de Saint-Georges. A tour for concert-goers led by Dana Cowen, exhibition curator and Sheldon Peck Curator for European and American Art before 1950, will follow the performance. Space is limited, free ticket suggested.

F.A.M. Fun in the Galleries
Sunday, September 24, 2023 | 1-5 p.m.
Drawing activities for the whole family inspired by the Ackland’s current exhibition Reform to Restoration. No ticket needed; drop in all afternoon!

Art & Literature at the Ackland
Friday, October 6, 2023 | 3-4:30 p.m. | $40
Join Dana Cowen (Sheldon Peck Curator for European and American Art before 1950, Ackland Art Museum) and Professor Ellen Welch (Romance Studies, UNC-Chapel Hill) for a tour and lively discussion of Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s Reveries of a Solitary Walker and the Ackland’s current exhibition Reform to Restoration. Participants will receive a copy of the book in advance of the event. Presented in collaboration with Carolina Public Humanities. Space is limited; tickets will be available in early August and are required.

Last Look Tour
Sunday, October 8, 2023 | 3:30 p.m.
A final look at the fabulous French drawings of the Horvitz collection, led by Reform to Restoration curator and Sheldon Peck Curator for European and American Art Dana Cowen. Space is limited; free tickets required.

Image Credit:

Jean-François-Pierre Peyron, French, 1744-1814, Académie: Seated Male Nude, 1780, black chalk on off-white laid paper, 14 3/8 x 20 7/8 in., (36 x 53 cm). The Horvitz Collection, Wilmington.