"A difficult figure to categorize, Pierre-Paul Prud'hon emerges in this book as a savvy negotiator of contemporary artistic expectations. From innovative public printmaking ventures to his creation of an alternate, feminine persona through his collaboration with Constance Mayer, Prud'hon questioned and redefined the role of the artist in a changing social milieu.

Often represented as an apathetic history painter, Prud'hon nevertheless parlayed both his remarkable talents as a draftsman and his skillful sense of diplomacy to attain conventional success. Nevertheless, he also followed an idiosyncratic artistic agenda. Drawing an Elusive Line brings his consistent subversion of academic demands into focus. Moreover, the book explores Prud'hon's prescient comprehension of a dawning art market among the newly powerful middle class while tracing the sources of his more traditional imperial patronage.

In surveying the breadth of Prud'hon's graphic output, Drawing an Elusive Line includes more than 150 drawings by the artist, some little known or previously unpublished."--BOOK JACKET.