Calligraphic exercise featuring neoclassical French poets

Laval, France, late nineteenth century. Calligraphic leaf from a manuscript produced by a Carmelite sister or novitiate in the Immaculate Conception Carmel at Laval, France, established in 1856. Three literary quotations, transcribed here in a neat minuscule hand, represent major French poets of the seventeenth century. The first passage is drawn from Corneille’s neoclassical tragedy Polyeucte (1643), the story of a Christian martyr executed under the Roman Empire. The second represents Boileau’s mock-heroic epic Le Lutrin (1674-1683), which follows a petty ecclesiastical rivalry conducted at the expense of the true Church. The final passage is from Molière’s (truncated) comedy Les Femmes Savantes (1672), a satire of the précieux style in French society and letters. The quotations are surrounded by decorative floral motifs and borders executed in pale green watercolor, against a background of precisely applied lavender stipple. Text in French. A lovely survival. Single calligraphic leaf, measuring 8.75 x 13.75 inches, executed in ink and watercolor, matted to 16 x 20 inches. Numeral “6” at top righthand corner. Paper toned. (Inventory #: 1003917)