Neil Jeffares is an art historian with a particular interest in eighteenth century pastels. For a brief biography, see here. Most of his writing appears in documents on the Pastels & pastellists website while articles on related subjects also appear on his blog, Fairness, candour & curiosity. Below is a selection of externally published articles; for a list of main articles, see under Jeffares in the Bibliography.

Principal publications on art history

Pastels & pastllists website

This includes the online Dictionary of pastellists before 1800, as well as a number of other publications, notably
Prolegomena to Pastels & pastellists
Treatises and other historical texts related to Pastels & pastellists
Pastels & pastellists also includes numerous additional resources, including genealogies and biographical indices of collectors, writers, suppliers, copyists, egravers etc. Longer essays are indexed here.

Catalogue raisonné of Maurice-Quentin de La Tour, issued in separate fascicles, constantly updated, indexed from here. Complete pdfs have been periodically issued: Maurice-Quentin de La Tour, 2020; 2nd edition

Publications on art history - externally published (chronological order)

« Jacques-Antoine-Marie Lemoine », Gazette des beaux-arts, février 1999, vol. CXXXV, n° 1561, pp. 61–136

« L’abbé Pommyer, honoraire amateur de l’Académie royale de peinture », Gazette des beaux-arts, mai–juin 2001, vol. CXXXVII, n° 1588–89, pp. 237–56

“The marquis de Bonnac: a suggested identification of a portrait by Louis Vigée”, British journal for eighteenth century studies, Spring 2002, vol. 25, no. 1, pp. 45–74

“Jean Valade’s portraits of the Faventines family”, British journal for eighteenth century studies, Autumn 2003, vol. 26, no. 2, pp. 217–50

(avec Pierre Rosenberg) « Pastels du musée Condé, Chantilly », De poudre et de papier : florilège de pastels dans les collections publiques françaises, Versailles, 2004

« Les portraits des princesses de Bourbon-Condé par Rosalba Carriera », Le Musée Condé, décembre 2004, n° 61, pp. 14–19

Dictionary of pastellists before 1800, London, Unicorn Press, 2006

« Pastels de la Collection Oulmont », Le Goût de la grace et du joli. Dessins, peintures et pastels du XVIII^e siècle, Épinal, musée départemental d’art ancien et contemporain, 2007, éd. Jérôme Delaplanche

« Le portrait de Mme de Prie par J.-B. Van Loo », Parcours d’un collectionneur : l’histoire, la fable et le portrait, tableaux et dessins français inédits des XVII^e et XVIII^e siècles, Sceaux, musée de l’Île-de-France, 13 septembre 2007 – 21 janvier 2008; Arras, musée des Beaux-Arts, 1^er mars – 15 juin 2008; Bayonne, musée Bonnat, 11 juillet – 13 octobre 2008. Catalogue Pierre Rosenberg & al.

Review of Liotard by M. Roethlisberger & R. Loche, Burlington magazine, May 2009, vol. CLI, no. 1274, pp. 322–23

(avec Axelle Corty), « L’autoportrait au pastel de Jean-Louis Lambert », Connaissance des arts, mars 2010, p. 103

“Leading the Revolution”, review of Adélaïde Labille-Guiard by Laura Auricchio, Apollo, December 2010, pp. 88–90

Review of Pastel portraits: images of 18th-century Europe at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Burlington magazine, July 2011, vol. CLIII, no. 1274, pp. 500–501

“Pastel: a transnational phenomenon in 18th century Europe”, in Christie's Old master & early British drawings & watercolours sale catalogue, London, 3 July 2012, pp. 66–67

“Between France and Bavaria: Louis-Joseph d’Albert de Luynes, prince de Grimberghen”, The court historian, vol. 17/1, June 2012, pp. 61–85

Review of Robert Nanteuil (ca. 1623–1678) by Audrey Adamczak, Burlington magazine, August 2012, vol. CLIV, no. 1313, pp. 583–84

“Martha Gumley (1711-87) and her portrait by John Russell”, Proceedings of the Wesley Historical Society, vol. LIX, no. 1, February 2013, pp. 3-11 and cover

« Un portrait au pastel de Nattier », Connaissance des arts, no. 714, avril 2013, p. 105

« La princesse de Guéméné », Madame Élisabeth: une princesse au destin tragique 1764-1794, Versailles, 2013, éd. Juliette Trey

“'Why bother with Joseph Boze?' Pastels in The Burlington Magazine”, The Burlington Magazine index blog, 29.I.2014

“De pastels van de famille d’Ursel”, Kasteel d’Ursel magazine, 40, .XII.2014, pp. 4-7

“Jacques-Antoine-Marie Lemoine”, in Allgemeines Künstlerlexikon, Band 84, Munich, 2015

“Two English portraits by Liotard: Lady Anne Somerset and Catherine, Lady Hawke”, British art journal, vol. XV, no. 3, Spring 2015, pp. 3–11

“Liotard and the medium of pastel”, in Jean-Étienne Liotard, Edinburgh, Scottish National Gallery; London, Royal Academy of Arts, 2015-16, pp. 26–33

“Pastels, portraits and paramours”, introduction to the Liotard exhibition at the J. Paul Getty Museum, Iris, the online magazine of the Getty

“John Downman”, in Christie's Old master & British drawings & watercolours sale catalogue, London, South Kensington, 9 December 2015, p. 84

“Jacques-Antoine-Marie Lemoine”, in Allgemeines Künstlerlexikon, vol. LXXXIV, 2015, p. 72

“Francis Cotes (1726–1770) and his family”, British art journal, XVI/3, Winter 2015/16, pp. 68–73

"Romney's Mrs Gardner", Transactions of the Romney Society, XXI, 2016, pp. 12-17

"Parlementaires in pastel", in Bertrand Augé, ed., Regards nouveaux sur les institutions représentatives de l'ancien régime, la Cour, la diplomatie, la guerre et la littérature: essais en hommage à John Rogister, Paris, 2017, pp. 85-112

"Polska i jej elity na tle popularnosci portretu pastelowego w XVIII-wiecznej Europie", Rocznik Muzeum Narodowego w Warszawie, VI, 42, 2017, pp. 137-55

"In praise of pastels", review of Salmon 2018, Apollo, .IX.2018, pp. 18, 107, 116-17

"Pastels du Louvre: questions d'attribution", Gazette Drouot, 28, 13.VII.2018, pp. 104-107

"Framing the Louvre's pastels", The Frame Blog, 2018

"Foreign legion", review of Baetjer 2019, Apollo, .IV.2019, pp. 102-3

"Daniel Gardner and the revival of interest in pastel", in Christie's Old master & British drawings & watercolours sale catalogue, London, 2.VII.2019, p. 84

“An epitome of painting (1683) by Edward Luttrell”, Walpole Society, LXXXII, 2020, pp. 115–47

"Pastels in the pandemic", Burlington magazine, .VIII.2022, CLXIV, pp. 780-87

Lectures:

« Lemoine et La Cantatrice », Colloque, L’Age d’or du petit portrait, Paris, musée du Louvre, 26 janvier 1996

« A l’ombre de La Tour : Quelques pastellistes des deux Académies », Colloque scientifique international, Maurice-Quentin de La Tour 1704–1784: Le tricentenaire, Saint-Quentin, 22 octobre 2004

“Diplomacy and the internationalisation of pastel portraiture”, Symposium, 1756–2006: Die diplomatische Revolution, Vienna, Ambassade de France en Autriche, 1–3 May 2006

“Encounters with Perronneau”, Colloque international, Jean-Baptiste Perronneau, un artiste de son temps?, Orléans, musée des Beaux-Arts, 22-23 juin 2017

“A history of pastel exhibitions: 1. The evolution of taste”, Colloque international, Le Pastel: regards croisés sur une technique singulière, Paris, Petit Palais, 16-17 octobre 2017

“A history of pastel exhibitions: 2. Transporting pastels to exhibitions”, Colloque international, Le Pastel: regards croisés sur une technique singulière, Paris, Petit Palais, 16-17 octobre 2017

back to Dictionary of pastellists before 1800