Exchanges between drawing and print (15th-18th century).
[link to French version see below]

In his Dictionnaire des monogrammes (1747), Johann Friedrich Christ praises the invention of printmaking as follows: “this admirable technique enables us to multiply by the thousands the design one has engraved and that without it would always remain unique and one of a kind”. Yet, far from being limited to a mere relation of subordination in which print simply reproduces and multiplies drawing, these two mediums have developed different types of interactions that redefine the ways art is conceived, produced, and shared. It seems essential, therefore, to question the boundaries established by overly restrictive approaches that place the concepts of original and copy, of invention and reproduction, in opposition, and to rethink the common assumption of a unidirectional orientation in the transmedial phenomena at play at the intersection of drawing and printmaking. Indeed, the shared history of the two mediums reveals much more sophisticated dynamics. From preparatory drawing to interpretative print, from the print as model to the drawings that take inspiration from it, from hybrid practices to the design freely sketched on the plate in order to be printed, these two arts engage in a constant dialogue that encompasses issues ranging from technique, to authoriality, and the circulation of images.
Thirteen years after the scholarly contributions brought together by Dominique Cordellier et Cordélia Hattori under the title Dessiner pour graver, graver pour dessiner, this colloquium is part of a major critical renewal of the study of the graphic arts. The analysis of hybrid practices and of the translation between mediums sheds light on the creative process in its full complexity. What becomes of the notions of invention and reproduction when the print is itself a creative source? To what extent do the technique-specific constraints of printmaking influence the style and compositional strategies of drawing? What role does collaboration between designers and printmakers play in the creation of a shared visual language? This colloquium aims to explore such questions by combining historical, technical, and aesthetic approaches, to advance the study of the interwoven relationships between the draftsman’s mark and the printmaker’s groove between the 15th and the 18th centuries.

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
The colloquium "La taille et le trait: Exchanges between drawing and print (15th-18th century)" invites scholars, curators, and art historians to propose contributions that will enrich our understanding of these complex creative interactions.
The following areas of focus – far from being exhaustive – are proposed as general guidelines. Contributions may touch upon any one of the areas below or propose other approaches insofar as they engage critically with the relationship between drawing and printmaking.

1. Creative processes
- The function of drawing in the production of a print: preparatory drawings, drawn copies, tracing, counterproofing, etc.
- Mixed techniques and hybrid practices: corrected, retouched, or hand-coloured proofs; technical experimentation; deliberate ambiguity of technique, etc.
- Adapting drawn compositions to the constraints of printmaking: reversal, format, translation of tonal values
- The influence of different tools on the visual characteristics of the marks
- The practices of the peintre-graveur

2. Image circulation and artistic networks
- The role of publishers and printsellers in the development of different practices
- Collaboration between designers and printmakers: division of labour, collective workshops, multiple authorship
- Collections of prints as repositories of models for draftsmen
- Instances of copying, citation, and appropriation between drawing and print

3. Theoretical framework and critical discourses
- Technical treatises: how do they define the relationship between drawing and print?
- Hierarchies in the graphic arts
- Invenit, delineavit, sculpsit: fashioning authorship and sharing roles
- The printmaker and learning how to draw: the role of copies after printed models in the pedagogy of drawing

4. Methodological and epistemological questions
- Issues of attribution
- Problems around interpreting a work’s function
- The contribution of technical studies (infrared, x-ray imaging) to the understanding of the processes of creation and correction
- Historiography: how has previous scholarship on drawing and printmaking influenced their reception?

5. Collecting practices
- Collections encompassing both prints and drawings; interactions between the two mediums in modern-day collections
- Compiling hybrid collections
- Transmedial appropriation: drawing on prints, composing new images from drawn or printed materials, etc.

HOW TO SUBMIT
Proposals (in English or French) should include:
- A summary of up to 200 words outlining the scholarly question, methodology, and expected results
- A short bio and list of publications
- select bibliography (up to 10 titles)
The 20-minute presentations will be followed by 10 minutes of discussion. Papers may be delivered in English or French.

Deadline for submission: 3 April 2026
Applicants will be notified during the month of May 2026
Submissions should be sent to: latailleetletraitgmail.com

PUBLICATION
Papers selected for the colloquium will be published in a leading scholarly journal or academic series. Texts to be published (up to 5,000 words including footnotes) should be submitted within six months of the date of the colloquium.

ORGANIZING COMMITTEE
Edina Adam, associate curator of drawings (J. Paul Getty Museum)
Antoine Chatelain, doctoral candidate in history of art (Université Lyon 2 / LARHRA)
Pauline Chougnet, curator of drawings (Bibliothèque nationale de France)
Jamie Gabbarelli, associate curator of prints and drawings (The Art Institute of Chicago)
Nastasia Gallian, associate professor (Sorbonne Université / Centre André-Chastel UMR 8150)
Chloé Perrot, curator (Institut national du Patrimoine)

ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Emmanuelle Brugerolles, curator emerita (ENSBA, Cabinet Jean-Bonna)
Maël Tauziède-Espariat, associate professor in the History of Modern Art (Université Paris Nanterre)
Sophie Raux, professor in the History of Modern Art (Université Lyon 2 / LARHRA)
Philippe Sénéchal, emeritus professor in the History of Modern Art (Université de Picardie Jules Verne)
Caroline Vrand, curator (Musée du Louvre)

KEY INFORMATION
Place : Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France (TBD)
Dates : 18–19 November 2026
Colloquium languages : French and English
Contact : latailleetletraitgmail.com
Speakers' travel and accommodation costs will be covered in line with available funding.

This colloquium builds on recent research on the graphic arts and is supported by Sorbonne University / Centre André-Chastel UMR 8150, the National Committee for Prints, and the National Library of France.

French version of the CFP: https://www.centrechastel.sorbonne-universite.fr/actualites-evenements/appel-contributions-en-vue-du-colloque-international-la-taille-et-le-trait