Floor plan

Style galleriesNeoclassicism

Neoclassicism

A work made of soft ground etching, with roulette, printed in red on white wove paper.
Comtesse de la Châtre (Marie Charlotte Louise Perrette Aglaé Bontemps, 1762–1848), by Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun, 1789
Monks in the Cloister of the Church of Gesù e Maria, Rome, by François Marius Granet, 1808
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.
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 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.
Self-Portrait with Two Pupils, Marie Gabrielle Capet (1761–1818) and Marie Marguerite Carraux de Rosemond (1765–1788), by Adélaïde Labille-Guiard, 1785

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. A work made of soft ground etching, with roulette, printed in red on white wove paper.
    Portrait of a Man in an Armchair, from Collection d'imitations de Dessins d'après les Principaux Maîtres Hollandais et FlamandsChristian Josi, 1826Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  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. 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
  4. 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

First room, south wall

  1. 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
  2. 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
  3. 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

Second room, south wall

  1. Portrait of Mademoiselle Marie-Anne Adelaide Le Normand, by François Dumont, c. 1793
    Portrait of Mademoiselle Marie-Anne Adelaide Le NormandFrançois Dumont, c. 1793Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  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 oil on panel.
    The Hanged MonkFrancisco Goya, c. 1810Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago

Second room, north wall

  1. Antoine Laurent Lavoisier (1743–1794) and Marie Anne Lavoisier (Marie Anne Pierrette Paulze, 1758–1836), by Jacques-Louis David, 1788
    Antoine Laurent Lavoisier (1743–1794) and Marie Anne Lavoisier (Marie Anne Pierrette Paulze, 1758–1836)Jacques-Louis David, 1788Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. Portrait of a Boy, ca. 1800
    Portrait of a BoyUnrecorded Italian maker, ca. 1800Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum

Third room, north wall

  1. Moonlight falls across several masted ships near a rocky shoreline in this horizontal painting. The sky fills the top three-quarters of the picture. A veil of slate-gray clouds is lit to pearl white around the crisp, full moon at the center of the composition. Patches of denim-blue sky are seen through breaks in the blanket of clouds. Moonlight reflects down the center of rippling, silvery-gray water that laps against a beach close to us, along the bottom edge of the painting. A tent is set up in the lower left corner of the composition. There, two women and one man stand looking at a glowing fire next to the tent. One woman holds a basket on her head, the other tucks a flat basket under one arm. The man stands between the two women, and a fourth man crouches near the fire, his back to us. In the opening of the tent, another woman kneels over a large bowl as she looks at the fire. A fifth person, a man, gazes at the fire as he sits smoking a long-stemmed pipe on a boulder. At the foot of the boulders, a man lies back against some bundles, one arm thrown up over his head. A dog curls up next to his hip. Not far from the sleeping man and in the center of the foreground, a man carries several long wooden objects, possibly oars, over one shoulder while a dog beyond him barks at the lapping surf. The beach curves like a C away from us, along the left. At the point of the curve in the middle distance, a structure like a city wall and gate jut out to the water’s edge. More buildings atop steep cliffs rise vertically beyond the gate. The shoreline curves into the distance again, and more buildings, including a lighthouse, and masted ships there are smoke-gray silhouettes. Near the lower right corner of the painting, four men pull on ropes tied around the prow of a small wooden boat while three others push it toward the land. Another man stands in the far end. A short distance beyond that boat is a tall wooden ship with three masts and rigging outlined against the night sky. Windows along the decks of that boat’s wide stern, angled toward us, glow with golden light. Beyond it and a bit to our left, another ship, smaller in scale, sails away from us. Several more ships move back to the horizon until we only see strokes of white and gray to indicate their unfurled sails.
    MoonlightClaude-Joseph Vernet, 1772Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  2. Young Woman (possibly a Sex Worker) with a Man (recto); Young Woman Wringing Her Hands over a Man's Naked Body (verso), by Francisco Goya, 1796–97
    Young Woman (possibly a Sex Worker) with a Man (recto); Young Woman Wringing Her Hands over a Man's Naked Body (verso)Francisco Goya, 1796–97Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art

Third room, south wall

  1. 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
  2. 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