Floor plan

Time and place18th-century France

18th-century France

PROJECT FOR THE PAINTED DECORATION OF THE CEILING OF A HALL (PAINTED OVAL CEILING)
Overdoor Painting, by Pierre Rousseau, 1790s
Broken Eggs, by Jean Baptiste Greuze, 1756
Portrait of a Woman, by Jean-Marc Nattier, c. 1748
Comtesse de la Châtre (Marie Charlotte Louise Perrette Aglaé Bontemps, 1762–1848), by Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun, 1789
Germain-Augustin and Rose de Saint-Aubin, Drawn by Their Uncle, by Gabriel de Saint-Aubin, 1766
Mezzetin, by Antoine Watteau, ca. 1718–20

The works in this room are listed below.

Works in this room

Works made in France in the 18th century.

Section 1, north wall

  1. PROJECT FOR THE PAINTED DECORATION OF THE CEILING OF A HALL (PAINTED OVAL CEILING)
    Project for the Painted Decoration of the Ceiling of a Hall (Painted Oval Ceiling)Jean Baptiste Marie Pierre, 1761Courtesy of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
  2. Overdoor Painting, by Pierre Rousseau, 1790s
    Overdoor PaintingPierre Rousseau, 1790sCourtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  3. Broken Eggs, by Jean Baptiste Greuze, 1756
    Broken EggsJean Baptiste Greuze, 1756Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Section 1, south wall

  1. Portrait of a Woman, by Jean-Marc Nattier, c. 1748
    Portrait of a WomanJean-Marc Nattier, c. 1748Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  2. Comtesse de la Châtre (Marie Charlotte Louise Perrette Aglaé Bontemps, 1762–1848), by Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun, 1789
    Comtesse de la Châtre (Marie Charlotte Louise Perrette Aglaé Bontemps, 1762–1848)Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun, 1789Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  3. Germain-Augustin and Rose de Saint-Aubin, Drawn by Their Uncle, by Gabriel de Saint-Aubin, 1766
    Germain-Augustin and Rose de Saint-Aubin, Drawn by Their UncleGabriel de Saint-Aubin, 1766Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  4. Mezzetin, by Antoine Watteau, ca. 1718–20
    MezzetinAntoine Watteau, ca. 1718–20Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Section 2, south wall

  1. This is a painting of a king, a hawk, and a hunter in a classical architectural setting with columns and arches. In the image, a figure in royal clothing is seated beneath draped red fabric, facing a man in hunting attire holding a bird. A hawk perches on the royal figure's head, wings spread, while the hunter reaches toward the hawk. Surrounding them are other figures in armor, holding spears and shields. The style is reminiscent of classic European paintings with themes of mythology or allegory.
    Le roi, le milan, et le chasseur (The King, the Kite, and the Hunter)Benoît-Louis Prévost, published 1759Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  2. A woman wearing flowing, pastel-colored robes and two, winged, child-like putti gather on a bank of clouds among musical instruments and sheet music in this horizontal painting. The people all have pale, pink-tinged skin. The woman sits to our right of center, facing our left in profile. She has straight nose, a rounded chin, and her small, pink lips are closed. Her ash-blond hair is pulled back under a yellow band. A voluminous white robe falls away over her left shoulder, to our right, to reveal a firm breast and small pink nipple. Sky-blue drapery wraps over her far arm, and deep rose-pink cloth falls across her lap and onto the clouds around her. Her legs extend to our left, her toes pointed. She leans back on her left elbow, closer to us, and points with that index finger to a lyre she props against her knee with her other hand. One chubby, nude putto reaches forward to strum the strings. The other putto hovers above, holding a ring of laurel leaves up in one hand and a flute in the other. Both putti have chubby limbs and torsos, blond curls lifted as if in a breeze, and short, ice-blue wings. Both look at the woman. In the lower left corner, a helmet with a topaz-blue feather and the gold hilt of a sword sit near the woman’s feet. Beneath the woman’s lower leg, at the bottom center of the painting, is a gold horn encircled by another wreath of laurel leaves. Two white doves with wings spread support an open book of sheet music and two pink roses tucked under the woman’s bent elbow. Fog-gray clouds billow up both sides of the scene against a pale blue sky. The clouds on which the trio gathers are parchment brown shaded with mauve pink. The outer corners of the image are white, indicating that the corners of the canvas were rounded. The artist signed and dated the painting in the lower right corner, “F Boucher 1764.”
    Allegory of MusicFrançois Boucher, 1764Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  3. The image shows a sketch of an architectural scene with structures lining a road or pathway. The horizon is not clearly defined, and the sketch focuses on architectural details. The drawing features loose, freehand lines outlining buildings and trees, with classical elements like columns and entablatures. The color palette is monochromatic, with light parchment and dark ink strokes creating contrast. Close-up details are lightly shaded for depth, while distant details are less defined. The composition is open and airy, emphasizing architectural features over precision.
    Ancient Ruins on the Bank of the TiberAugustin Pajou, 1752/1756Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington

Section 2, north wall

  1. The Death of Socrates, by Jacques-Louis David, 1787
    The Death of SocratesJacques-Louis David, 1787Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. Portrait of a Woman as Diana, by Jean-Marc Nattier, 1752
    Portrait of a Woman as DianaJean-Marc Nattier, 1752Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  3. This is a painting of animals in front of a ruined structure. The painting features a cat, a weasel, and a small rabbit gathered on a patch of grass. The cat has its paw over the rabbit, with the weasel observing. They are in front of an ancient stone structure surrounded by vegetation. In the background are trees against a sky. The foreground has detailed foliage and flowers.
    Le chat, la balette et le petit lapin (The Cat, the Weasel, and the Rabbit)Martin Marvie, published 1756Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington

Section 3, north wall

  1. Study of a Seated Woman Seen from Behind (Marie-Gabrielle Capet), by Adélaïde Labille-Guiard, 1789
    Study of a Seated Woman Seen from Behind (Marie-Gabrielle Capet)Adélaïde Labille-Guiard, 1789Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. Overdoor Painting, by Pierre Rousseau, 1790s
    Overdoor PaintingPierre Rousseau, 1790sCourtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  3. A work made of handcolored etching in black on cream laid paper.
    The Grotto of Posillipo (La Grotta di Posillipo)Louis Jean Desprez, 1785/90Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago