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Neoclassicism

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

109 works · hang 4748 ·

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

Walk this roomRehang this room

First room, north wall

  1. A work made of oil on canvas.
    Portrait of Constance PipeletJean Baptiste François Désoria, 1797Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  2. In a room filled with easels, white plaster heads and statuettes, a box of paints, books, and papers, a young woman stands looking at a sketch and a young girl looks on, seated in an armchair, in this vertical painting. The scene is lit from the upper left, presumably from a window out of our view. Both women have smooth, pale skin, and their hair is swept up with curls framing their faces. They face our right in profile so their faces are in gentle shadow. They have straight noses, and their rose-pink lips are closed. They wear gowns with short sleeves, low, scooped necks, and floor-length skirts cinched under the bust. In the center of the painting, the young woman has chestnut-brown hair and wears a white gown tied with a sky-blue ribbon. She stands in front of a portfolio propped up against a tall easel. The portfolio is made of two stiff boards that tie together with pale blue ribbon to secure large sheets of paper. She rests her right hand, closer to us, on the front board of the portfolio and looks down at the sketch on a gray piece of paper she holds with her other hand. Next to her and closer to us, the younger girl sits in a gold chair upholstered with olive-green velvet. She faces our right almost in profile, and she looks up toward the drawing the other woman holds. The girl in the chair has blond hair and a gold-colored dress. Her feet are propped on a gold footstool, and she holds another portfolio on her lap. She supports the portfolio and holds a piece of paper with one hand, and a stylus or brush in the other hand, up by her chin. To the right of the easel, a wooden table holds a collection of plaster casts of faces, a hand, and small-scale bodies along with a glass vessel and a few other tools. Two translucent green bottles, boxes, a book, and a terracotta vase are collected on the footstool and the floor around the base of the easel. Garnet-red cloths are draped down the front of the table to our right and behind the girl on the chair. Next to her chair, in the lower left corner of the composition, is a wooden box with a paint palette and a handful of thin paintbrushes. A scroll of paper lies next to the box. A shelf at the standing girl’s shoulder height and behind the pair, to our left, is piled with white busts of a man, child, and woman, more figurines, and a brush in a small cup, all arranged across a moss-green cloth. The space with the girls and artist’s tools is enclosed by a large, dark brown form, presumably a canvas in shadow, that leans against the tall easels and mostly cuts off a view into the rest of the room. A glimpse of shadowy capitals is seen over the board, across the top of the painting, to suggest that a row of columns recedes into the space beyond. The artist signed the work as if he had painted his name on the floor next to the scroll, “L. Boilly.”
    A Painter's StudioLouis-Léopold Boilly, c. 1800Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  3. Comtesse de la Châtre (Marie Charlotte Louise Perrette Aglaé Bontemps, 1762–1848), by Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun, 1789
    Comtesse de la Châtre (Marie Charlotte Louise Perrette Aglaé Bontemps, 1762–1848)Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun, 1789Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

First room, south 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. MARTYRDOM OF ST. ANDREW
    Martyrdom of St. AndrewFrancesco Coghetti, 1825–50Courtesy of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
  3. Marie Antoinette in a Park, by Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun, ca. 1780–81
    Marie Antoinette in a ParkElisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun, ca. 1780–81Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  4. Germain-Augustin and Rose de Saint-Aubin, Drawn by Their Uncle, by Gabriel de Saint-Aubin, 1766
    Germain-Augustin and Rose de Saint-Aubin, Drawn by Their UncleGabriel de Saint-Aubin, 1766Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Second room, south wall

  1. This oval painting depicts a cherubic child in a garden setting. The child is standing with one foot in front of the other and has small wings on their back. The child has light skin, curly blond hair, rosy cheeks, and a playful expression. They are mostly nude, except for a cloth that wraps around their back and covers their groin. The child is holding a golden arrow. They are standing in front of a light green bush with pink flowers. In the bottom left, there is a dark blue object in the green grass that looks like a torch or cylindrical quiver. The setting includes lush greenery and more clusters of pink and white flowers. The background features a pastel blue sky with soft pink clouds and two white doves flying above.
    Love the SentinelJean Honoré Fragonard, c. 1773/1776Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  2. Portrait of Emma Hamilton, by Angelica Kauffmann, 1791
    Portrait of Emma HamiltonAngelica Kauffmann, 1791Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  3. A work made of conté crayon on gray-blue wove paper.
    Landscape with HaystacksConstant Troyon, n.d.Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  4. 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

Second room, north wall

  1. A work made of oil on canvas.
    The Destruction of Pharaoh's ArmyPhilippe Jacques de Loutherbourg, II, 1792Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  2. The engraving depicts a gathering around a woman holding a child in her arms in an indoor setting with stone columns and an arched background. Another woman is next to her, looking towards her while leaning over what appears to be a child or possibly a doll on a small donkey. Surrounding the central woman are several children, some seated and playing on the floor. A dog is resting at the central woman's feet. The image features lush drapery, creating a warm and intimate setting. The style suggests classical or historical fashion, and there is an ornate border with ivy leaves. The text and emblem below likely contain relevant inscriptions.
    L'heureuse féconditéNicolas Delaunay, 1777Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  3. 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

Third room, north wall

  1. The Afternoon Meal (La Merienda), by Luis Meléndez, ca. 1772
    The Afternoon Meal (La Merienda)Luis Meléndez, ca. 1772Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. A work made of etching, aquatint, drypoint and burin on ivory laid paper.
    Pedro Romero killing the halted bull, plate 30 from The Art of BullfightingFrancisco Goya, 1814/16, published 1816Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago