# The Toilette of Venus

**François Boucher** (French, 1703–1770)  
1751  
Oil on canvas  
42 5/8 x 33 1/2 in. (108.3 x 85.1 cm)

Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 20.155.9. [The museum's record](https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/435739).

## About this work

Venus reclines on a bank of silk and cushions while cupids attend to her hair and jewels. Boucher, the favourite painter of Madame de Pompadour, made this canvas in 1751, and it is generally thought to have been painted for her château at Bellevue. The soft pinks and blues, the creamy flesh and the effortless arrangement of drapery sum up the Rococo ideal of painting as sheer pleasure for the eye.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

François Boucher painted this in 1751, aged 48. It is now at The Met in New York.

### How it was made

- **Oil paint.** Pigment ground in a drying oil, usually linseed. It dries slowly, so painters could blend on the canvas, build up thin translucent glazes, and rework a picture over weeks. Canvas replaced wooden panels in the 1500s because it is lighter and can be rolled.

### [François Boucher](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/francois-boucher)

French, 1703–1770; born in Paris; died in Paris

Boucher trained with François Lemoyne, won the Prix de Rome and spent several years in Italy before rising to become First Painter to Louis XV. Madame de Pompadour was his most important patron. He worked at every scale, from mythological canvases full of rosy nudes and cupids to designs for the Beauvais and Gobelins tapestry factories, porcelain and the opera. His light, decorative manner came to define the French Rococo.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

## Facts

- Type: Paintings
- The artist was 48
- Real size: about 43 × 34 in (108 × 85 cm). The original is larger than our largest print, 24 × 36 in, so every print is a reduction.
- Century: 18th century
- Subjects: Female Nudes, Venus
- Colour: black
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/1064.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/1064/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68; 20 × 30 in $86; 24 × 36 in $108
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164; 20 × 30 in $208; 24 × 36 in $258
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118; 20 × 30 in $148
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3; 20 × 30 in $5; 24 × 36 in $5

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/the-toilette-of-venus-met-435739).