Floor plan

Style galleriesNeoclassicism

Neoclassicism

The painting depicts three children within an oval frame, their upper bodies visible. The central child, a young girl, is positioned with her body facing forward and her head turned slightly to the left. She has a fair complexion, with rosy cheeks, pink lips, and wide brown eyes. Her hair is gray and partially pulled back by a blue ribbon. She is dressed in a white garment with a yellow shawl draped over her shoulders. Her arms are outstretched, holding the ends of a cloth that has been pinned on her dress. Her arms and the cloth extend forward beyond the oval frame that encircles the trio, as if the frame is a window or porthole that she is reaching out of. On the right, a boy leans on the girl's shoulder, also facing to the left, seen in profile. He has light brown, curly hair and a fair complexion. He wears a dark blue-green jacket over a white collar, and he is looking upward towards the third child. On the left, another boy, who also has light skin and light brown curly hair, appears to stand on a chair above the other two children. He is holding a long yellow straw up to his lips. At the other end of the straw, a large bubble hangs over the white cloth that the girl holds out. In his other hand is a small white dish. He wears a muted brown outfit with a dark cloth wrapped around him. The background within the frame is plain gray, and the frame that surrounds the children is light gray and appears to be carved with leaf designs. Beyond the oval frame is gray.
PSYCHE ASKS PROSERPINE TO PUT A LITTLE OF HER BEAUTY IN AN URN FOR VENUS
DESIGNS FOR ORNAMENTAL ARABESQUE MOTIFS
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.”
Portrait of a Boy, ca. 1800
This is a drawing of a group of mythological figures in a ceremonial scene. The composition features multiple figures in various poses, centered around a symbolic gathering. The drawing is detailed, providing a classical representation of human forms, draped fabrics, and an animal. A plateau with trees is subtly depicted in the background. The figures display expressions ranging from serene to contemplative.

The works in this room are listed below.

Works in this room

Europe turns back to Greece and Rome: clear line, calm figures and civic virtue.

First room, north wall

  1. The painting depicts three children within an oval frame, their upper bodies visible. The central child, a young girl, is positioned with her body facing forward and her head turned slightly to the left. She has a fair complexion, with rosy cheeks, pink lips, and wide brown eyes. Her hair is gray and partially pulled back by a blue ribbon. She is dressed in a white garment with a yellow shawl draped over her shoulders. Her arms are outstretched, holding the ends of a cloth that has been pinned on her dress. Her arms and the cloth extend forward beyond the oval frame that encircles the trio, as if the frame is a window or porthole that she is reaching out of. On the right, a boy leans on the girl's shoulder, also facing to the left, seen in profile. He has light brown, curly hair and a fair complexion. He wears a dark blue-green jacket over a white collar, and he is looking upward towards the third child. On the left, another boy, who also has light skin and light brown curly hair, appears to stand on a chair above the other two children. He is holding a long yellow straw up to his lips. At the other end of the straw, a large bubble hangs over the white cloth that the girl holds out. In his other hand is a small white dish. He wears a muted brown outfit with a dark cloth wrapped around him. The background within the frame is plain gray, and the frame that surrounds the children is light gray and appears to be carved with leaf designs. Beyond the oval frame is gray.
    Soap BubblesCharles Amédée Philippe Van Loo, 1764Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  2. PSYCHE ASKS PROSERPINE TO PUT A LITTLE OF HER BEAUTY IN AN URN FOR VENUS
    Psyche Asks Proserpine to Put a Little of her Beauty in an Urn for VenusJohann August Nahl The Younger, ca. 1781Courtesy of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
  3. DESIGNS FOR ORNAMENTAL ARABESQUE MOTIFS
    Designs for Ornamental Arabesque MotifsEtienne de Lavallée-Poussin, 1770Courtesy of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

First room, south wall

  1. 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
  2. Portrait of a Boy, ca. 1800
    Portrait of a BoyUnrecorded Italian maker, ca. 1800Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
  3. This is a drawing of a group of mythological figures in a ceremonial scene. The composition features multiple figures in various poses, centered around a symbolic gathering. The drawing is detailed, providing a classical representation of human forms, draped fabrics, and an animal. A plateau with trees is subtly depicted in the background. The figures display expressions ranging from serene to contemplative.
    The Nursing of JupiterThéodore ChassériauCourtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington

Second room, south wall

  1. This image is a pencil sketch on paper with a monochrome palette of graphite gray. The viewer sees various scenes without a defined horizon line. The upper section shows figures in period clothing, possibly mid-19th century women's fashion. The middle area has abstract architectural forms. In the lower right corner, a sailing ship or boat is sketched with more detail than the rest. The drawing style consists of quick, expressive strokes. The image conveys multiple narrative or compositional ideas on a single sheet.
    Seaside StudiesEugène Isabey, 1830sCourtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  2. Self-Portrait, by Francisco Goya, ca. 1796
    Self-PortraitFrancisco Goya, ca. 1796Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  3. A young woman and two children are shown from the waist up through an oval, stone opening, holding and looking at a wooden box with a lens protruding from one side in this square painting. All three people have pale skin with rosy cheeks. To our right, the young woman’s body is angled to our left as she braces the torso of a young girl. The young woman looks at us from the corners of her sage-green eyes, under lifted brows. Her small, pink mouth is pursed in a slight smile, and she has a faint dimple in her rounded chin. Her heather-gray hair is partially plaited over the crown of her head, and long curls fall over her shoulders. She wears a spruce-blue shawl over the shoulders of her low-cut, olive-green dress. The child she braces has chubby cheeks, and her wavy blond hair is brushed back from her forehead and falls loosely to her shoulders. She wears a blush-pink dress with ruffles on the half-length sleeves and gossamer-white trim around the neckline and cuffs. The top and side rails of a wooden, ladderback chair up against the inside of the opening suggests she stands or kneels on a backward-facing chair. She rests her left hand on the edge of the stone opening and her other hand on the wrist of the boy standing close behind her. Mostly in the shadow behind the others, the boy has small, pointed features and short, curly, sable-brown hair. He wears a tan coat, and a muted blue scarf is tied at his throat. The two children gaze at the wooden box the boy holds, which is about the size of a toaster. A short, cylindrical, brass-lined lens pokes out of the center of the side facing the trio. The oval opening through which we see them is carved on our side with stylized leaves and berries, and the wall around it is the same elephant gray as the carvings. The girl and the box cast a shadow across the opening. The artist signed and dated the painting in the lower left corner, “Amedee Can Loo./1764.”
    The Camera ObscuraCharles Amédée Philippe Van Loo, 1764Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  4. A work made of oil on panel.
    The Hanged MonkFrancisco Goya, c. 1810Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago

Second room, north wall

  1. The image depicts a group of people in varying poses and outfits. A central figure, possibly a child, is being held up by a man. Those around them are positioned differently, some standing closely. The figures have detailed faces and wear garments resembling classical attire. Shields and banners decorated with symbols are present in the background. Armor and helmets are scattered on the ground. Trees and a group of people in the distance are part of the background.
    Ancient TeutonsDaniel Nikolaus Chodowiecki, 1782Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  2. A work made of oil on canvas.
    Alexander at the Tomb of Cyrus the GreatPierre Henri de Valenciennes, 1796Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  3. Invocation to Love, by Jean Honoré Fragonard, c. 1781
    Invocation to LoveJean Honoré Fragonard, c. 1781Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  4. Portrait of Emma Hamilton, by Angelica Kauffmann, 1791
    Portrait of Emma HamiltonAngelica Kauffmann, 1791Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Third room, north wall

  1. Monks in the Cloister of the Church of Gesù e Maria, Rome, by François Marius Granet, 1808
    Monks in the Cloister of the Church of Gesù e Maria, RomeFrançois Marius Granet, 1808Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. Self-Portrait with Two Pupils, Marie Gabrielle Capet (1761–1818) and Marie Marguerite Carraux de Rosemond (1765–1788), by Adélaïde Labille-Guiard, 1785
    Self-Portrait with Two Pupils, Marie Gabrielle Capet (1761–1818) and Marie Marguerite Carraux de Rosemond (1765–1788)Adélaïde Labille-Guiard, 1785Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art