Floor plan

Style galleriesNeoclassicism

Neoclassicism

The Billiard Room, by Nicolas Antoine Taunay, after 1810
Condesa de Altamira and Her Daughter, María Agustina, by Francisco Goya, 1787–88
Seated Giant, by Francisco Goya, by 1818 (possibly 1814–18)
A work made of engraving and etching in black on ivory wove paper.
DESIGNS FOR ORNAMENTAL ARABESQUE MOTIFS
This oval painting shows a cherubic child floating mid-air with one leg bent and their arms outstretched. The cherub has curly hair, a round face, and pale skin dusted with rosy pink and light teal shadows. They are smiling gently. The cherub is nude with a draped cloth over one shoulder, and in one hand they hold a flaming torch. Surrounding the cherub are white birds in flight. The background consists of pale blue and soft white clouds, with blooming pink flowers and foliage on the pale green ground.
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.
Portrait of a Boy, ca. 1800

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 Billiard Room, by Nicolas Antoine Taunay, after 1810
    The Billiard RoomNicolas Antoine Taunay, after 1810Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. Condesa de Altamira and Her Daughter, María Agustina, by Francisco Goya, 1787–88
    Condesa de Altamira and Her Daughter, María AgustinaFrancisco Goya, 1787–88Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  3. Seated Giant, by Francisco Goya, by 1818 (possibly 1814–18)
    Seated GiantFrancisco Goya, by 1818 (possibly 1814–18)Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  4. A work made of engraving and etching in black on ivory wove paper.
    Ajax, Front View, from Oeuvre de CanovaAntonio Canova, 1817Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago

First room, south wall

  1. DESIGNS FOR ORNAMENTAL ARABESQUE MOTIFS
    Designs for Ornamental Arabesque MotifsEtienne de Lavallée-Poussin, 1770Courtesy of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
  2. This oval painting shows a cherubic child floating mid-air with one leg bent and their arms outstretched. The cherub has curly hair, a round face, and pale skin dusted with rosy pink and light teal shadows. They are smiling gently. The cherub is nude with a draped cloth over one shoulder, and in one hand they hold a flaming torch. Surrounding the cherub are white birds in flight. The background consists of pale blue and soft white clouds, with blooming pink flowers and foliage on the pale green ground.
    Love as FollyJean Honoré Fragonard, c. 1773/1776Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  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
  4. Portrait of a Boy, ca. 1800
    Portrait of a BoyUnrecorded Italian maker, ca. 1800Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum

Second room, south wall

  1. We look up through an opening surrounded by a stone ledge, with clusters of people and clouds swirling into a blue sky up and away from us in this vertical, rectangular painting. From a distance, the scene looks like a complete illusion but up close, the people, clouds, and architecture are sketchily painted. The ledge running around the opening has a gold, oval medallion at each corner. Appearing to be carved from white stone, two bearded men with long hair recline against each medallion, flanking them to each side in front of large shells that curve up over the people and frames them. A few architectural structures extend up into the sky, including a pointed obelisk in the lower left corner, a pair of columns at the upper right, and what seems to be the mast of a ship at the top left. Most of the people have pale skin but some have more tan complexions, and a few, including those wearing feather headdresses near the upper left corner, have brown skin. The people wear windswept robes of pale, butter yellow, robin’s egg blue, rose pink, and ivory. The eye may drawn to a few vignettes, such as the man holding a rearing, chestnut-brown horse on the illusionistic ledge near the lower right, a nun wearing a white robe and holding a cross above him in the clouds, and, farthest away, a crowned person sitting on a throne.
    Wealth and Benefits of the Spanish Monarchy under Charles IIIGiovanni Battista Tiepolo, 1762Courtesy 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. CATHEDRAL OF NOTRE DAME IN PARIS
    Cathedral of Notre Dame in ParisCharles Nicolas Ransonnette, 1825–1840Courtesy of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

Second room, north wall

  1. Shown from the waist up in front of a black background, a young woman with pale white skin and curly brown hair looks directly out at us over her shoulder with her body angled to our left in this vertical portrait. She has dark brown eyes, a straight nose, smooth skin, and her pink lips are closed. Curls fall across her forehead but the rest of her hair is pulled up under a white lace scarf, called a mantilla. The mantilla is tucked under the wide orange and black shawl wrapped around her shoulders. She clasps her hands at her waist, and her hands and forearms are covered with long white gloves that disappear under the shawl.
    Señora Sabasa GarciaFrancisco Goya, c. 1806/1811Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  2. A work made of etching in black on ivory laid paper.
    Portrait of Le Roi MaratViller, c. 1795Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  3. A work made of oil on canvas.
    ShipwreckAfter Eugène Isabey, 19th centuryCourtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago

Third room, north wall

  1. 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
  2. A work made of engraving in black on ivory wove paper.
    George Washington, Front View, from Oeuvre de CanovaAntonio Canova, 1817Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago