Article: George Gabb and ‘Le Cabinet de M. Le Clerc’
Some research can be a long time in the making. Originally started for a conference in 2018, the below article finally pulls together a set of questions raised by an extraordinary old master drawing in the Science Museum collections. It looks at histories of collecting, knowledge production, and art and science in dialogue. I’m delighted to have this work out in the world, and hope for productive conversations to ensue.
Abstract
In 1948, the Science Museum, London, acquired a drawing by French artist Sébastien Le Clerc entitled The Physical Laboratory of the Académie des Sciences, bequeathed by the chemist and collector George Hugh Gabb. Separated from two other drawings by Le Clerc of the same composition, the drawing has been interpreted as a view of the French Académie des Sciences after its move to the Louvre in 1699. This essay considers the provenance and reception history of the drawing, paying attention to its research and interpretation by Gabb. His comparison of the related unfinished print to Le Clerc's most famous image, L'Académie des Sciences et des Beaux-Arts, reveals similar employment of instruments and imagery by Le Clerc, showing both the artist and the Académie producing scientific knowledge through art. Gabb's drawing gives one rich example of how we can understand the entwined histories of art and science over time.
Drawing of ‘Le Cabinet de M. Le Clerc’ by Sebastian Le Clerc (the elder), around 1700
Science Museum Group Collection © The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum