Pierre Alexandre Wille

Pierre Alexandre Wille was active throughout the eighteenth century, with a documented career spanning 1700 through 1771. The works representing Wille’s output demonstrate facility across several artistic genres, focusing primarily on drawings and prints.

The subjects addressed by the artist range from intimate genre scenes, such as the detailed composition Two Women in an Elegant Interior: a Singer Accompanied by a Lutenist, to formal portraiture, seen in the study Gentleman with a Riding Crop. Wille also engaged with landscape and devotional subjects, exemplified by the composition Landscape with Ruined Tower and the religious study Priest Holding a Service Before an Altar. Another key drawing, A Sleeping Shepherd, further illustrates his interest in pastoral and domestic themes.

Wille’s historical significance is affirmed by the placement of his work in prestigious American collections. His documented output includes four drawings and one print, which are preserved in institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the National Gallery of Art. Much of the surviving material, including original Pierre Alexandre Wille prints, is now in the public domain, ensuring that downloadable artwork and high-quality prints are accessible to researchers. Reproductions of these museum-quality works are often available as free art prints for study and non-commercial use.