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Neoclassicism

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

109 works · hang 8244 ·

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

Walk this roomRehang this room

First room, north wall

  1. Cupid and Psyche, by Jacques-Louis David, 1817
    Cupid and PsycheJacques-Louis David, 1817Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  2. A work made of oil on canvas.
    Prancing HorseFollower of Jean Louis André Théodore Géricault, 1808–12Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  3. God save us from such a bitter fate; a bandit threatening a woman and a child with a knife, page 41 from the "Black Border Album" (E), by Francisco Goya, ca. 1816–20
    God save us from such a bitter fate; a bandit threatening a woman and a child with a knife, page 41 from the "Black Border Album" (E)Francisco Goya, ca. 1816–20Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

First room, south wall

  1. MARTYRDOM OF ST. ANDREW
    Martyrdom of St. AndrewFrancesco Coghetti, 1825–50Courtesy of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
  2. DESIGNS FOR ORNAMENTAL ARABESQUE MOTIFS
    Designs for Ornamental Arabesque MotifsEtienne de Lavallée-Poussin, 1770Courtesy of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
  3. Overdoor Painting and Double-Leaf Doors, by Pierre Rousseau, 1790s
    Overdoor Painting and Double-Leaf DoorsPierre Rousseau, 1790sCourtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art

Second room, south wall

  1. A young woman with light skin stands in a garden, wearing a voluminous, full-length, silvery, shimmering gown in this vertical portrait painting. Her body faces us, as she looks into the distance to our left. She has rosy cheeks, gray-green eyes under gently arched, light brown brows, and her coral-pink, thin, closed lips curve in a slight smile. Her ash-brown hair is pulled back and adorned with tiny shell-pink and azure-blue flowers along the left side top of head, to our right. A pleated lace ruffle encircles her smooth neck. Her gown is parchment white where the light glints off the stiff fabric and is silvery gray in the shadows, creating a silk-like sheen. The dress is cut low across the chest, fits tightly around her narrow waist, and has puffy sleeves tied at the elbows with topaz-blue bows. Another blue bow is tied at her chest, and the ends wrap around her back along her waist. A corsage at her left shoulder, to our right, is a profusion of white flowers around a pale pink rose. In her other hand, to our left, she holds a straw hat with a shallow crown and a wide brim, trimmed with sky-blue ribbon. The arm holding the hat is nearly engulfed in the deep folds of her full skirt. She holds a pink rose in her other hand, which rests on the lip of a shiny, copper-colored urn filled with pink flowers and delicate green leaves. On that wrist she wears a bracelet with four strands of white pearls holding a cameo. She stands on a pale, dirt ground. A teal-blue bench in the lower left corner of the painting is tucked into sage-green shrubbery. Sprigs of pink roses are strewn across the seat and on the ground. The woman is framed to either side with olive and celery-green trees and vegetation, which blend into the hazy distance beyond her head.
    Madame BergeretFrançois Boucher, possibly 1766Courtesy 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. 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
  4. 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

Second room, north wall

  1. A Forest with Apollo and Daphne, by Jean-Victor Bertin, 1810
    A Forest with Apollo and DaphneJean-Victor Bertin, 1810Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  2. A work made of black chalk and charcoal with stumping, heightened with white chalk (recto), and black chalk and charcoal with stumping (verso), on dark tan laid paper.
    Standing Academic Male Nude (recto); Sketch of Upper Arm (verso)Eugène Delacroix, 1816Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  3. 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

Third room, north wall

  1. Towering, pale, celery-green trees frame a view of a lush park with about a dozen elegantly dressed, light-skinned men and women in this vertical landscape painting. The color palette is dominated by moss and lemon-lime green, golden yellow, and spruce blue. The men all wear jackets with long tails over knee-breeches, and their long hair is pulled back at the napes of their necks. The women wear long dresses with full skirts and hints of lace at the sleeves and bust, and their brown or white hair is pulled up. Nine of the men and women gather to our right on a stone terrace along the bottom edge of the painting. A man in butter yellow kneels in front of a woman wearing rose pink. Around this pair, people stand, kneel, sit, or recline wearing aquamarine blue, light turquoise, or ivory white. A man and woman sit on a bench to our left, a little removed from the larger group. This woman wears ruby red and the man leaning toward her wears topaz blue. Two people in the park beyond these groups are painted with only a few strokes of pale blue and white paint, and they look over a low hedge row lining the walking path. Beds of red flowers fill the lower corners of the composition in front of a statue of a woman to our left and a person, perhaps on a fountain, to our right. The grassy walking path and trees become more blue as they fade into the hazy distance between the tall tress to either side. The sky fades from pale blue along the horizon to a silvery blue, almost white, at the top.
    A Game of Hot CocklesJean Honoré Fragonard, c. 1775/1780Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  2. A work made of oil on panel.
    Head of a Guillotined ManJean Louis André Théodore Géricault, 1818–19Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  3. 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