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Neoclassicism

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

109 works · hang 5442 ·

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

Walk this roomRehang this room

First room, north wall

  1. PROJECT FOR THE PAINTED DECORATION OF THE CEILING OF A HALL (PAINTED OVAL CEILING)
    Project for the Painted Decoration of the Ceiling of a Hall (Painted Oval Ceiling)Jean Baptiste Marie Pierre, 1761Courtesy of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
  2. 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
  3. Overdoor Painting, by Pierre Rousseau, 1790s
    Overdoor PaintingPierre Rousseau, 1790sCourtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art

First room, south wall

  1. Cupid and Psyche, by Jacques-Louis David, 1817
    Cupid and PsycheJacques-Louis David, 1817Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  2. Charles Maurice de Talleyrand Périgord (1754–1838), Prince de Bénévent, by baron François Gérard, 1808
    Charles Maurice de Talleyrand Périgord (1754–1838), Prince de Bénéventbaron François Gérard, 1808Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Second room, south wall

  1. Two Draft Horses with a Sleeping Driver, by Jean Louis André Théodore Géricault, 1820–22
    Two Draft Horses with a Sleeping DriverJean Louis André Théodore Géricault, 1820–22Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. 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
  3. 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

Second room, north wall

  1. 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
  2. CATHEDRAL OF NOTRE DAME IN PARIS
    Cathedral of Notre Dame in ParisCharles Nicolas Ransonnette, 1825–1840Courtesy of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
  3. 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
  4. The image shows an etching of a forest scene with towering trees dominating the upper half. The horizon is not clearly visible due to dense foliage, but a line of trees and rocky outcrops in the distance provide a boundary. The fine lines and cross-hatching technique create detailed textures in the tree bark and foliage. The color palette is monochromatic, in shades of black and white emphasizing light and shadow. A large tree with a partially hollow trunk and figures scattered throughout the scene give a sense of scale and activity within the forest setting.
    Wooded Landscape with a Nymph and a SatyrSalomon Gessner, 1764Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington

Third room, north wall

  1. The Death of Socrates, by Jacques-Louis David, 1787
    The Death of SocratesJacques-Louis David, 1787Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. A work made of engraving and etching in black on ivory wove paper.
    Ettore, Side View, from Oeuvre de CanovaAntonio Canova, 1817Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago

Third room, south wall

  1. The Curious One, by Antoine Pierre Mongin, 1823
    The Curious OneAntoine Pierre Mongin, 1823Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  2. Study of a Seated Woman Seen from Behind (Marie-Gabrielle Capet), by Adélaïde Labille-Guiard, 1789
    Study of a Seated Woman Seen from Behind (Marie-Gabrielle Capet)Adélaïde Labille-Guiard, 1789Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art