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The French eighteenth century

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

35 works · hang 9870 ·

The rooms are imagined; every work on their walls is real.

Walk this roomRehang this room

First room, north wall

  1. A man wearing loose, ivory-white clothing stands flanked by two groups of people in this horizontal painting. All the people have pale or peachy skin except for one person, who may have a brown mask. The man in the center, representing the character Pierrot, stands facing us with his hands by his sides. He has slightly bulging eyes, a bulbous nose, ruddy cheeks, and his full pink lips slightly smile. He wears a straw hat pushed back on his high forehead and a narrow ruffled collar around his neck. His shirt has long, voluminous sleeves and a row of small white buttons down the front. The pants are baggy and end abruptly above his white-stockinged ankles over white slippers. The fabric seems to have a sheen. In the shallow space behind him, a stone wall curves toward us to either side of a doorway that leads to a park-like setting. A crimson-red curtain is pulled to our right. Pierrot stands on the top of two steps, and the people to either side are arranged along the stage or the step that runs close to the bottom edge of the canvas. A spray of white flowers drapes down the front of the steps to our right of center. The group to our left has eight men, women, and children. Closest to us and in the lower left corner, a young man wearing a tomato-red jester’s costume trimmed with bells sits on the steps as he twists and looks back at the scene behind him. He holds a scepter or puppet in the shape of a doll-like jester. Two children gather at his feet. One weaves stems of white flowers together, and the other looks at us, smiling. Just above them another cleanshaven young man sits holding a lute in his lap. He wears a brick-red coat, brown breeches, and slate-blue stockings over crossed legs. He leans back and looks up and to our left, his round cheeks flushed. At the back of this group, two people wear tan-colored costumes covered in muted green and pink diamond shapes, and one might wear a brown mask. That person’s pink lips, black mustache and eyebrows, and black dots for eyes appear painted onto a hard, molded surface. The group of six people to our right stand on the same level as Pierrot. At the front of that group, a heavyset young man wears a gold-colored costume trimmed with black and a waist-length, Wedgewood-blue cape. He faces us but looks to our right as he leans back with one arm extended toward Pierrot. Beyond him are two woman and another person shown only from the neck up. The woman closest to Pierrot wears a pewter-gray gown with a scooped neckline. To the right of the man in gold is an old man with a long beard, wearing a black skullcap and cloak. He leans on a short staff and turns his head to look at the group. The last person on the far right is shown from the neck up and stands before the red curtain hanging from the upper right.
    The Italian ComediansAntoine Watteau, probably 1720Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  2. The image shows an ancient ruin with arches and crumbling stonework surrounded by overgrown vegetation. The horizon is slightly elevated, emphasizing the towering remnants of the architecture. Expressive brushstrokes and textures are notable, especially in the vines and leaves on the stone. The color palette is subdued, mainly earthy tones and black, creating contrast and suggesting openings into the distance, enhancing the old, abandoned feel of the ruins.
    Arches of the Larger Baths at Hadrian's VillaCharles Michel-Ange Challe, c. 1748Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  3. A work made of crayon manner engraving in red and black on cream laid paper.
    The Young DraftsmanGilles Demarteau, 1750/70Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago

First room, south wall

  1. A woman sitting in an upholstered chair near a vanity table touches the hair of the little girl leaning against her lap to our left, as a man leans onto the back of her chair to our right in this vertical portrait painting. The people all have pale skin, flushed cheeks, and their pale gray hair is pulled back and curled. Their pink lips curve in slight smiles, and light glinting off of much of the fabric suggests they wear satin or silk. The woman’s body is angled to our left, toward the girl, but she turns her head back to look up over her other shoulder with gray eyes. A voluminous, cream-white cloth drapes over her shoulders and lap, over a bodice covered in lilac-purple bows and ribbons. Her gold satin skirt falls around her feet. The little girl leans onto one arm on the woman’s lap as she turns to look at us with pale blue eyes. The girl’s forget-me-not-blue dress has a fitted bodice, elbow-length sleeves over white cuffs, a long, full skirt, and white ruffles along the collar. The woman holds blue flowers in the girl’s hair, and the girl’s forearm wraps around a bundle of pink and red flowers in the woman’s lap. The chair is upholstered in teal blue and has a gold frame and a row of gold nail heads along the padded back and arm. The man leans one forearm against the back of the chair as he looks down at the girl. In that hand, he holds a folded piece of paper with writing. He wears a loose jacket decorated with gold pagodas, pink and yellow flowers, and spruce-green leaves against a brown background. Foamy white lace falls back from his cuffs and hangs down from the high white collar of his undershirt. He wears brick-red, knee-length britches, white stockings, and black shoes with silver buckles. His other hand is planted against his hip, and one ankle is crossed in front of the other. A vanity draped with a white cloth sits on the far side of the woman and girl, along the left edge of the painting. It holds gold and glass vessels and boxes, and a rounded mirror at the back is draped with dark pink cloth. The lower half of a window behind the vanity is covered by a white cloth, and the panes continue beyond the top of the canvas. A teal-blue curtain hangs along the right edge of the window, at the corner of the room. A clock with a gold case of swirling, carved designs hangs high on the peanut-brown wall behind the man. On the floor near the chair, blue and white striped tissue paper, a rose-pink ribbon, and a strand of pearls drape over the edges of an open box. Writing along the front edge of the lid of the box reads, “Fs. Drouais. Ce 1 avril. 1756.” A pink rose lies near the girl’s feet, to our left.
    Family PortraitFrançois Hubert Drouais, 1756Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  2. 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. 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
  2. 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
  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. 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

Second room, north 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. 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. Spring, by Jean-Baptiste Pater, c. 1720–36
    SpringJean-Baptiste Pater, c. 1720–36Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art

Third room, north wall

  1. A work made of oil on canvas.
    Appenine LandscapeFrançois Le Moyne, c. 1730Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  2. Soap Bubbles, by Jean Siméon Chardin, ca. 1733–34
    Soap BubblesJean Siméon Chardin, ca. 1733–34Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Third room, south wall

  1. Portrait of Cardinal Guillaume Dubois, by Hyacinthe Rigaud, 1723
    Portrait of Cardinal Guillaume DuboisHyacinthe Rigaud, 1723Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  2. A work made of black chalk, with stumping and black crayon, red and brown chalk, heightened with white chalk, on buff laid paper, laid down on cream laid paper.
    Study of a GroomJean Baptiste Greuze, c. 1760Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago