Floor plan

Style galleriesThe French eighteenth century

The French eighteenth century

Broken Eggs, by Jean Baptiste Greuze, 1756
A work made of oil on canvas.
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.
Soap Bubbles, by Jean Siméon Chardin, ca. 1733–34
Mezzetin, by Antoine Watteau, ca. 1718–20
Twenty-one men in long waistcoats and women in elegantly trimmed gowns gather and dance within a verdant landscape in this horizontal painting. The men wear jackets and breeches in ginger brown, pale pink, or spruce blue. The women’s gowns have full sleeves, tight-fitting bodices, and full skirts in shades of bronze, teal blue, butterscotch gold, or rich pink edged with ribbons and lace. Some of them wear floral wreaths or ribbons in their upswept hair. Groups gather around a woman and man who dance together to our left in the scene. Some in the group of onlookers to our left hold musical instruments, including a violin and a pipe. Another group is nestled among trees just beyond the dancers, at the center of the painting, and more sit and stand to our right. The dancing woman wears a gleaming, ice-blue gown with rows of flowers in muted pink, blue, and gold down the full skirt and around the bottom hem, which falls short of her thin ankles. More garlands cross her chest and shoulders, and flowers are tucked into her dark gray hair. She faces us with her head turned to our right as she looks off in that direction with dark eyes under curving brows. She has a delicate nose, rosy, round cheeks, and pink lips. She holds her arms spread wide with the thumb touching the index finger of each hand. The man with whom she dances wears a coral-red tunic and breeches with sleeves decorated with pale pink and blue ribbons. The brim of his brown hat is turned up. His body faces us but he turns his head to look at the woman, his lips parted. The man and woman each have one gracefully pointed foot raised. The dancers and groups are enclosed within a park-like setting with tall trees to either side, and a screen of trees across the back of the space. The trees have slender trunks and canopies in shades of pine, sage, and moss green. Near the back middle of the scene, a stone column topped by a human head wearing a wreath of laurel leaves rises above the central group. A fountain with a vertical jet of water is tucked into the shadows within a grove of trees along the right edge of the painting. The water falls into a pool in the lower right corner.

The works in this room are listed below.

Works in this room

Fêtes, portraits and still lifes from the France of the Regency and Louis XV.

First room, north wall

  1. Broken Eggs, by Jean Baptiste Greuze, 1756
    Broken EggsJean Baptiste Greuze, 1756Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. A work made of oil on canvas.
    The White TableclothJean Siméon Chardin, c. 1731–32Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  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

First room, south wall

  1. Soap Bubbles, by Jean Siméon Chardin, ca. 1733–34
    Soap BubblesJean Siméon Chardin, ca. 1733–34Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. Mezzetin, by Antoine Watteau, ca. 1718–20
    MezzetinAntoine Watteau, ca. 1718–20Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  3. Twenty-one men in long waistcoats and women in elegantly trimmed gowns gather and dance within a verdant landscape in this horizontal painting. The men wear jackets and breeches in ginger brown, pale pink, or spruce blue. The women’s gowns have full sleeves, tight-fitting bodices, and full skirts in shades of bronze, teal blue, butterscotch gold, or rich pink edged with ribbons and lace. Some of them wear floral wreaths or ribbons in their upswept hair. Groups gather around a woman and man who dance together to our left in the scene. Some in the group of onlookers to our left hold musical instruments, including a violin and a pipe. Another group is nestled among trees just beyond the dancers, at the center of the painting, and more sit and stand to our right. The dancing woman wears a gleaming, ice-blue gown with rows of flowers in muted pink, blue, and gold down the full skirt and around the bottom hem, which falls short of her thin ankles. More garlands cross her chest and shoulders, and flowers are tucked into her dark gray hair. She faces us with her head turned to our right as she looks off in that direction with dark eyes under curving brows. She has a delicate nose, rosy, round cheeks, and pink lips. She holds her arms spread wide with the thumb touching the index finger of each hand. The man with whom she dances wears a coral-red tunic and breeches with sleeves decorated with pale pink and blue ribbons. The brim of his brown hat is turned up. His body faces us but he turns his head to look at the woman, his lips parted. The man and woman each have one gracefully pointed foot raised. The dancers and groups are enclosed within a park-like setting with tall trees to either side, and a screen of trees across the back of the space. The trees have slender trunks and canopies in shades of pine, sage, and moss green. Near the back middle of the scene, a stone column topped by a human head wearing a wreath of laurel leaves rises above the central group. A fountain with a vertical jet of water is tucked into the shadows within a grove of trees along the right edge of the painting. The water falls into a pool in the lower right corner.
    La Camargo DancingNicolas Lancret, c. 1730Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington

Second room, south wall

  1. Cupids in Conspiracy, by François Boucher, 1740s
    Cupids in ConspiracyFrançois Boucher, 1740sCourtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  2. A pale-skinned man sits facing our left as he plays a harp while turning his face to smile at us in this vertical portrait painting. He looks out the corners of his light blue eyes under arched, gray brows. He has a rounded nose, pale pink lips, and a round face. Gray hair is brushed back from his high forehead and curls around his ears. His long fingers rest on the strings of the harp, and the ends of strings curl like wind-loosened strands of hair along the top edge. The man wears a pale mauve-purple cravat, and his snow-white, long-sleeved chemise is untucked and loose around his thighs. The cuff we see is open and folded back over a bright white shirt edged with lace. His dusky rose-pink breeches are unbuttoned at the knee over white stockings. The square-seated chair on which he sits is carved with garlands and floral patterns, which are gilded gold. The seat itself is topaz blue, and it has a low back. A similarly ornamented and gilded table along the back of the room holds a portfolio and roll of papers, the tooled and gilded spines of books, and a statuette to the right. The pale pinkish-orange statuette shows a woman holding a tablet and wearing a long, loose robe and head covering. Her body angles to our left and she looks off in that direction. The wall behind the table is mottled with smoky shades of gray and tan.
    Ange Laurent de La Live de JullyJean Baptiste Greuze, probably 1759Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  3. Chalk drawing with red and black shading of man carrying crate and pack.
    The Old SavoyardAntoine Watteau, c. 1715Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago

Second room, north wall

  1. Portrait of the Marquise d'Aguirandes, by François Hubert Drouais, 1759
    Portrait of the Marquise d'AguirandesFrançois Hubert Drouais, 1759Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  2. Seated Woman, by Antoine Watteau, 1716–17
    Seated WomanAntoine Watteau, 1716–17Courtesy of The Metropolitan 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
  4. This is a drawing of a lion in a forested rocky landscape. The lion is seen standing over a defeated animal. In the background, a forest with dense trees frames the scene. One monkey is visible among the rocks watching the lion. The setting conveys a wild, rugged terrain with rocky formations and scattered vegetation. Light and shadow emphasize textures in the lion's mane and the surrounding rocks. The composition focuses on the lion and its prey.
    Le lion (The Lion)A.-J. de Fehrt, published 1759Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington

Third room, north wall

  1. A work made of oil on canvas.
    Are They Thinking about the Grape? (Pensent-ils au raisin?)François Boucher, 1747Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  2. This is a drawing of anthropomorphic butterflies engaged in a duel with fencing swords. The butterflies have human-like bodies with wings resembling cloaks or capes. They stand on an ornate structure featuring decorative architectural elements like columns with floral and leaf motifs. Above them are arches, canopies, and hanging vines, creating a theatrical setting. The drawing combines fantasy and nature elements, showcasing elegance and imagination.
    Le Duel (The Duel)Charles Germain de Saint-Aubin, in or after 1756Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  3. FIGURES FROM SISTINE CHAPEL CEILING
    Figures from Sistine Chapel ceilingJean-Robert Ango, ca. 1759–70Courtesy of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum