Floor plan

Time and place19th-century France

19th-century France

Circus Sideshow (Parade de cirque), by Georges Seurat, 1887–88
A young, pale-skinned woman sits with her back to us as she looks at a painting on an easel in a studio in this vertical painting. She sits in a ladder-back wood chair so her knees angle away from us, toward the back right corner of the studio. We look onto the side of her right cheek as she leans forward. Her brown hair is combed back and twisted into a bun wrapped with a raspberry-red ribbon that trails down her back. Touches of pearl white, pale pink, and silvery gray suggest flowers by the ear we can see. A cream-white chemise falls off the shoulder closer to us, under a grass-green bodice. She holds a mandolin down by her right side, which is closer to us, to nestle in the folds of her voluminous, olive-green skirt. She reaches forward with her other hand to touch the lower left corner of the painting resting on the easel. That vertically-oriented scene is loosely painted and shows a few people gathered in a landscape. A white and black dog stands with one front leg lifted to the left of the woman's chair, looking at her. The wall opposite us is parchment white over a strip of molding, like a high chair rail, and muted mauve pink below. An L-shaped pipe leads to an iron stove to our left of center. A narrow shelf tucked into the L of the pipe holds three hand-sized sculptures or casts. Small paintings and plaster casts hang around it on the wall above the molding. The artist signed the painting in the lower right: “COROT.”
Pastel drawing of two figures in a sailboat, bright multi-colored clouds.
Young Ladies of the Village, by Gustave Courbet, 1851–52
At the Café, by Édouard Manet, 1874

The works in this room are listed below.

Works in this room

Works made in France in the 19th century.

Section 1, north wall

  1. Circus Sideshow (Parade de cirque), by Georges Seurat, 1887–88
    Circus Sideshow (Parade de cirque)Georges Seurat, 1887–88Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. A young, pale-skinned woman sits with her back to us as she looks at a painting on an easel in a studio in this vertical painting. She sits in a ladder-back wood chair so her knees angle away from us, toward the back right corner of the studio. We look onto the side of her right cheek as she leans forward. Her brown hair is combed back and twisted into a bun wrapped with a raspberry-red ribbon that trails down her back. Touches of pearl white, pale pink, and silvery gray suggest flowers by the ear we can see. A cream-white chemise falls off the shoulder closer to us, under a grass-green bodice. She holds a mandolin down by her right side, which is closer to us, to nestle in the folds of her voluminous, olive-green skirt. She reaches forward with her other hand to touch the lower left corner of the painting resting on the easel. That vertically-oriented scene is loosely painted and shows a few people gathered in a landscape. A white and black dog stands with one front leg lifted to the left of the woman's chair, looking at her. The wall opposite us is parchment white over a strip of molding, like a high chair rail, and muted mauve pink below. An L-shaped pipe leads to an iron stove to our left of center. A narrow shelf tucked into the L of the pipe holds three hand-sized sculptures or casts. Small paintings and plaster casts hang around it on the wall above the molding. The artist signed the painting in the lower right: “COROT.”
    Corot's Studio: Woman Seated Before an Easel, a Mandolin in her HandJean Baptiste Camille Corot, c. 1868Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  3. Pastel drawing of two figures in a sailboat, bright multi-colored clouds.
    Flower CloudsOdilon Redon, c. 1903Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago

Section 1, south wall

  1. Young Ladies of the Village, by Gustave Courbet, 1851–52
    Young Ladies of the VillageGustave Courbet, 1851–52Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. At the Café, by Édouard Manet, 1874
    At the CaféÉdouard Manet, 1874Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art

Section 2, south wall

  1. Painting of a performance inside a circus ring. A man wearing a suit holds a whip in his hand and looks towards a woman with red hair riding a gray horse and wearing a green dress. Audience members wearing suits and top hats watch from red and white benches on the side.
    Equestrienne (At the Cirque Fernando)Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, 1887–88Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  2. The Horse Fair, by Rosa Bonheur, 1852–55
    The Horse FairRosa Bonheur, 1852–55Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Section 2, north wall

  1. At the Circus: The Spanish Walk (Au Cirque: Le Pas espagnol), by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, 1899
    At the Circus: The Spanish Walk (Au Cirque: Le Pas espagnol)Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, 1899Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. Jalais Hill, Pontoise, by Camille Pissarro, 1867
    Jalais Hill, PontoiseCamille Pissarro, 1867Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  3. Charles Maurice de Talleyrand Périgord (1754–1838), Prince de Bénévent, by baron François Gérard, 1808
    Charles Maurice de Talleyrand Périgord (1754–1838), Prince de Bénéventbaron François Gérard, 1808Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Section 3, north wall

  1. A work made of oil on canvas.
    Prancing HorseFollower of Jean Louis André Théodore Géricault, 1808–12Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  2. A work made of oil on canvas.
    Watering Place at MarlyAlfred Sisley, 1875Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  3. The Shepherd's Song, by Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, 1891
    The Shepherd's SongPierre Puvis de Chavannes, 1891Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  4. The image shows a sketch-like scene viewed from a slightly elevated perspective, depicting a landscape dominated by a line of trees. The horizon is low in the image, just above a rising slope, with tall trees extending towards the sky. The trees and foliage are characterized by brushstrokes and crosshatching technique, conveying texture and shading. The color palette is monochromatic, with dark and light tones for a serene, natural quality. Line and shadow add movement and highlight the beauty of the trees as they recede into the distance, merging with the sky.
    In the Forest of Fontainebleau (Dans la foret de Fontainebleau)Alphonse LegrosCourtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington

Section 3, south wall

  1. Young Lady in 1866, by Édouard Manet, 1866
    Young Lady in 1866Édouard Manet, 1866Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. The Dance Class, by Edgar Degas, 1874
    The Dance ClassEdgar Degas, 1874Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art