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EIGHTEENTH
CENTl RY PAINTI>r,

European culture of the


eighteenth century may be
said to have possessed a
character of unity transcending
national divisions, but it was
also extremely complex.

The changes

in society during
time explain all the
contrasts of an era that
embraced equally happily the

this

and the frivolous, the


and the imaginary, in a
vast liberation of senses and

serious
real

spirit.

EIGHTEENTH

In

CENTURY PAINTING,

Clair
surveys this variety of
Europ>ean art and relates its

Gay

development to the
important social, cultural, and
political

upheavals that

influenced

it.

In the "Elegant Century," or

"Century of Enlightenment,"
European language, literature,
court and society art, and
etiquette were dominated
by France. It was taken for
granted that foreign rulers
would go to the studios of

French

artists

portraits, or to

for their

buy

paintings to decorate the


walls of distant palaces. Thus,
the type of royal portrait

painted by Rigaud, the


mythological portrait perfected
by Nattier, the worldly
paintings of Van Loo,
Tocque, and Perroneau, and
genre pictures such as

Watteau's Fetes were


eagerly sought

and imitated.

This was not the whole of


European art, however, as
Claire

Gay

explains. In fact,

was Tiepolo, a Venetian,


who was the outstanding

it

master of decorative
painting and fresco, while
fresco was hardly used in
France after the death of

^-^
\

.
J

Eighteenth Century Painting

History of Painting

Title

page

illustration:

Jean-Honore Fragonard
Grasse 1732-Paris 1806
Fantasy Figure, called Inspiration

on canvas
Paris, Louvre

Oil

2'7' x 2'2"

Prehistoric Painting

Egyptian and Ancient Eastern Painting

Greek and Etruscan Painting

Roman and

Early Christian Painting

Byzantine and Russian Painting

Romanesque Painting

Cover

illustration:

Gothic Painting

Gothic Painting

II

The Renaissance

The Renaissance

II

The Renaissance

III

Baroque Painting

Baroque Painting

II

Eighteenth Century

Antoine Watteau
Late

Romanticism

720

L'Enseigne de Gersaint

Impressionism

(Signboard for Gersaint)


Oil

on canvas

Berlin,

5'5' x lO'O"

Charlottenburg Palace

Expressionism
Post Impressionism

Cubism
Futurism and Dadaism

Surreahsm

The Great Masters

in

Modern Painting

Abstract Painting

Chinese Painting
Japanese Painting
Islamic and Indian Painting

American Painting

Eighteenth Century
Painting

Claire

Gay

Funk

&

Wagnalls,

New York

r:u

GcaU
/

Library

Series edited by

Claude Schaenner

Artistic Adviser:

Jean-Clarence Lambert
Illustrations

chosen by Claude Schaeflfner

Assistant: Marline

Caputo

Translated from the French by Paul Eve

All rights of reproduction, translation

and adaptation reserved


including the

for all countries

USSR

Editions Rencontre Lausanne, 1966

English edition:

Edito-Service SA, Geneva, 1968

Number: 75-I0053S

Library of Congress Catalog

Funk

Published by

&

Wagnalls,

Division of Reader's Digest Books, Inc.

by arrangement with Editions Rencontre


Printed in Italy

The colour

illustrations in the first part

and on the

cover were provided by Andre Held,

Lausanne,

except

and 50;
London: pages 65, 74

Scala, Florence: pages 45, 46

Courtauld

Institute,

(right), 75,

79 and 80;
R. B. Fleming, London: pages 73 and 88;

Brompton

Studio,

Giraudon,

Paris:

London: page

66;

page 70 (lower);

Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam: page

The black-and-white

91.

illustrations in the dictionary

were provided by:

Giraudon,

Paris: pages 146, 147, 148, 149, 152, 153.

156.

157,

159.

181.

183.

186.

160.
191,

161.

163.

165,

169,

177.

180.

192 (right), 194. 195. 197. 198

and 200;
Andre Held, Lausanne: pages

150.

176. 179. 184. 185, 190. 192 (left)

Bruckman-Giraudon, Pans; page

151.

and 202;
166;

Hanfstaengl-Giraudon. Pans: page 171.

154.

168.

Table of Contents

Introduction

The European

97

Evidence and Documents

8th Century

118

Chronology

126

Museums

144

Principal Exhibitions

145

Dictionary

204

Bibliography

205

List

of Illustrations

F'ictro l.onghi

Venice 1702-85
//i'

Oil

Pen list
on canvas

Venice.

2'0"

Academy

><

I'?'

Introduction

character of great unity

that case

it

may

rightly he attrihuteil to the culture of the J 8 th century, hut in

must also he recognised as having a strong element of complexity.

The IHth century lends


Enlightenment

",

of" Elegant Century

title

one of epicurean hehaviour and rationalist philosophy.

the " French Century

invention hut

well to the

itself

",

although

comes from across

should he emphasised that

it

",

or " Century of
also

It is

known

this title is not of

as

French

and the Rhine.


and ends with two events which, although emanating

the mountains

Historically, the century begins

the hegemony of Louis XIV and the imperialism


of Napoleon. In the years between, although they are studded with political or economic
defeats and setbacks, France maintains her place at the head of a Europe which

from France, are of European importance:

spontaneously accepts the pre-eminence of her language, her literature and her art and

adopts the etiquette of her court for

It is

usages.

taken for granted that foreign .sovereigns go to the studios of French artists for

their portraits, or to

French

its .social

artists,

buy paintings

or those trained

in

to

adorn the walls of distant palaces. In the same way

France,

make

triumphant Journeys throughout Europe,

staying to carry out highly-paid commissions or to found academies and art factories

modelled on those of Paris. Thus

become established

of royal portrait painted


by Rigaud, the mythological portrait perfected by Nattier, the worldly type of Van Loo,
is

to

Tocque and Perronneau ; the same applies


galantes which his successors,

in

more or

to

the type

genre paintings such as Watteaus Fetes

worthy manner, triumphantly paint on

less

overmantels, illustrating sentimental or licentious scenes from mythology

"

all

national specialties

principal architect of the

and

or the Bible.

But was that the whole of European art? Did the powerful wave of French art

submerge
answer:

...

"

"

and

traditions?

We pose

"

"

defence and illustration

the question as did Louis Reau,

of a French Europe, and we accept his

Art as elaborated at Versailles and in Paris had an all-powerful influence on court

socie'y art, which

is

international, bu:

had no

effect

on religious and popular

art. " It

must also be remembered that reservations about French expansion are manifest across the

Channel and the Alps:


Italy

from

" the

in

and in
of a national school whose

England because of a fierce Franco- British national

proud consciousness of 18th-century Italians


its past but from the living and is made

glory stems not only from

names

rivalry

illustrious with great

"

In fact

it is

a Venetian, Tiepolo. who dominates the important sector of decorative

painting, a derivation from

and sanctuaries, while

and organic complement

fresco, after the death

superb ceiling of the Hercules Salon at

to the

Baroque architecture of palaces

of Louis XIV,

Ver.sailles

is

Lemoine and those who emulated him are only exceptions

to the

Boucher. Boucher" s genre painting

new

is

hardly used

in

France. The

and some of the other works of Francois

better suited to the

general rule represented by

style

of interior architecture

which favours blank ceilings and leaves to the decorative painter only overmantels above
doors or panels. As for churches, France builds hardly any.

The

situation

is

different in

Germany and

Austria, recovering after the Thirty Years

War and

the Turkish Invasion. Churches

and monasteries are

abbeys, libraries, refectories, bishops" palaces and


to the Italian fresco painters

"

rebuilt in thanksgiving. Vast

Imperial apartments

who before long are joined by

"

offer

a rich field

native artists trained in the

academies of Augsburg or Vienna.

The

art

of displaying the

virtuosity

of the brush over large but capriciously-divided

surfaces calls for a real science In which the basic ideas of ceiling perspective, laid

down

in

books by Andrea Pozzo and Paulus Decker, are combined with theological concepts or the
ideas of Cesare Ripa's Iconology (that "Artists' Bible" which drew the
condemnation of WInckelmann and which combines pagan mythology with Christian

commonplace
allegory).

Here, Indeed,

Is

an important aspect of 18th-century painting which deliberately

stands aloof from a French Europe and the " Century of Enlightenment "
In the

same way,

the Italians

must be acknowledged as leaders


"

painting: the urban panorama. The travels of the two Venetian

Europe produce a

Bellotio, throughout

Vienna, Dresden

If today

series

in

another form of

VedutlstI" Canaletto
,

vivid pictures

of particularly

and

of London,

and Warsaw.
to discover the "

we are

masters of reality of the 16th century

of those of the 17 th century who held sway for

thirty years,

",

predecessors

tomorrow we may do as much

for the IHih century andfind, near or far from the great Chardin and in France or elsewhere,

a whole crop of lesser masters devoted

to naturalism.

becomes intimate. The landscape swings away from

The portrait abandons

the

Roman

all

pomp and

countryside and the precepts

of Claude Lor rain towards opposite ideas which have no pretensions to a monopoly of
beauty: like Rulsdael and other Dutch painters of the 17 th century, the artist .^eeks to delve
of Chardin, shows scenes of dally
life far from the sophistication of the boudoir or the prowesses of the bedchamber.
directly Into nature. Finally, genre painting, not only that

Nor must the


tenebrists " who dot

"

Caravagglsts

"

of the IHth century be forgotten, those

i.solated

and with whom is joined, albeit


Incidentally, the great David with his Marat Assassine (Murder of Marat ). By the same
token international Mannerism, which the historians say di.sappeared about 1620, shows
some curious resurgence In the IHth century as with Magnasco or Fuseli.
"

the " Century of Enlightenment

"

Another example oj the complexity of the IHth century

Is

found

in

the second half in

and total change in aesthetic conception which puts an end to the reign of the
by now 2()()years old or very nearly, and installs neo-classlcism, which develops in

the sudden

Barocpie,

Imitation of an antiquity brought to


taste has

its

life

by archaeological discoveries. This revolution

origin in Rotne, cosmopolitan melting-pot of intellectuals

and

artists

from

In

all

over Europe.

However, the classical inclinations of the French

spirit,

which consist of a feeling of

keeping within bounds, exist outside of imitation of the ancients. They are to be fouiul as

much
"

in the I3lh century,

French Piuthcnon"

'.'

),

golden age of Gothic art (was not Amiens Cathedral called the

as

in the

works of Delacroix, head of the Romantic school. As for

the 18th century,

it

is

to

he noted

in the

(rococo), creations that are free hut

in

Regenee ami Louis


which capriciousness

XV styles,

cuUed

"

kept

check,

and which

is

in

rocaille"

contrast with the frenzied exuherances of the Rococo of ItaUy-German Baroque, in their last

phases.
It is

and show

these contrasts, this variety

the richness

and these metamorphoses which make for

of painting of the European 18 fh century.


Boris Lossky
Curator of the Museums of Tours.

Amboise and Richelieu

the

charm

Thomas Gainsborough
Sudbury 1727-London 1788
(

itnvcrsalUm in a Park

J'aris,

Louvre

m^
1^,7 "^i
:

'-^b-.-.-.v

\,
\

The European
From

18 th Century

Paris to St Petersburg, by

way of London, Venice

or Potsdam, the 18th century

develops a European unity above national divisions. The essential mutations, those of

thought and

taste,

operate collectively. In spite of her military defeats, France holds

Europe fascinated. Venice, already prey

to the

Austrian yoke, beckons Europe to

its

feasting.

" delinquents ", presents the seductive

model of her constitutional monarchy. The idea of

way

"divine right" gives

decadence that

is

to

push

England, welcoming

under the

it

all

intellectual

to the "enlightened despotism" which Frederick

II

now

practises in Prussia. His Anti-Machiavcl, rejecting the theory of unscrupulous statecraft,

paves the way. with Montesquieu's Esprit des Lois and Rousseau's Social Contnui. for
the downfall of absolutism.

However, enough intolerance remains


" to

ment

dawn of the "Century of

at the

Enlighten-

hold respect for traditions. The repeal of the Edict of Nantes, hunting the

French Huguenots from

their country,

followed by the ebb of the triumphant

is

Anglicanism which has dethroned the Stuarts and driven English Catholics on to the

now on

Continent. But from

the prestige of the exiles puts a

premium on freedom of

thought and, agamst obscurantism, gives added influence to ideas which soon

new world. An

intuitive feeling that great

will rule a

changes are imminent enlivens international

Locke* and Hume* come the principal


philosophical movements. Scepticism and sensualism spread wide on the atheistic
materialism of Diderot* and Helvetius* before Kant* brilliantly crowns the accumu-

From

thought.

the English empiricism of

lated philosophical wealth of the last decades of the century.

This century, which lends

changes, constitutes par excellence a

itself to structural

which the opposing forces feign co-operation.

transitory era in

It

is

the tumultuous

period where a civilisation enters into the precarious balance of the apogee, the stage of

splendour before the

fall.

decisive factor for art, the state of society explains

contrasts of this epoch which embraces equally happily the serious and
real

and the imaginary,

elements join together


is

beginning, none the

pours out

its

in a vast liberation
in

of senses and

a coherent whole.

less

maintains

its

The

traditions.

the middle classes gradually

move

It

the

The most disparate


although

its

decline

adds elegance to grandeur and

Proud of

riches in bidding for the ostentatious.

spirit.

aristocracy,

all

the frivolous, the

their

into the category conceived by

economic prosperity,
and

bringing with them the lusty strength of their rationalism and faith

for the nobility,


in

progress and

spreading profusely their religious scepticism, their curiosity and their culture. This

change takes place with the reassuring courtesy of the period. "They had manners, even
in the

street",

battlefields

sions

of

on the

revived.

charm.

There culture

is

What do

they say in the Salons*, the daily

lace-bound revolution? There one

theatre,

Madame

the century,

An

Paul Valery remarks.

this

on music. There
is

talents are

never restricted but

is

is

deafened by passionate discus-

measured. There creative ardour

distributed like pleasure

and matches

it

is

in

Geoffrin has given the lead to Europe, for the salon, at the beginning of

feminine.

asterisk placed after a

the end of this volume.

From La Camargo

word

indicates that

it is

to Julie

de Lespinasse or to Lady Hamilton

the subject of an article or explanation in the dictionary at

Hyacinthe Rigaud
Pcrpignan 1659-Paris 1743

Marie Srrrc. Mother of the


Louvre

Artist,

c.

1695

Paris,

and whatever her beauty, culture or

talent,

woman

reigns.

Goncourts, "spreads a refinement of elegance, a delicacy

To meet
in all

in

"Everywhere." say the

voluptuousness."

the insatiable curiosity of the times an Encyclopaedia*

matters of science, politics, literature, arts and philosophy

science

and techniques

works

is

is

needed, learned

The progress of

followed enthusiastically by the public, hence the astonishmg

Reach of
Everyone or Algarotti's Newtonianism for Women, or the Abbot NoUet's Essay on the
Electricity of Bodies. The passion for travel which grips Europe stems from the same

success of

like

Voltaire's Elements of Newton's Philosophy within

knowledge. No longer do people hesitate before jcHirncymg from Naples to


Madrid or London, from Venice to Paris or St Petersburg. Literature and pamting open
up to the exotic. Frontiers arc abolished, often scornuig military alliances. Helped by
Diderot and Grimm*. Catherine 11 amasses a gigantic collection of works of art. often
buying en bloc whole private collections from the best-known collectors. Her reign
crowns the golden age of patronage of the arts. European princes vie in munificence with
thirst for

Nicolas de Largillicrc
Paris 1656-1746
Portrait

<>t

Versailles

Voltaire

Museum

such famous collectors as Walpole. Crozat. Algarotti*. Bruhl and the extravagant

William Beckford,

who had

This cosmopolitanism gives


such names as

Hume,

the neo-Gothic Fonthill


rise to a sort

first,

built to

house
in

his treasures.

which figure

Voltaire*. Diderot, Daniel Defoe*, Swift*. Fielding*. Jean-

Jacques Rousseau*. Metastasis, Goethe*.

At

Abbey

of collective cultural patrimony

licentious in France

and

satirical in

England, the course of the novel flows

towards the pool of sentimental naturalism, revealed by Richardson* and Rousseau. The
aristocratic taste for

show and

gaiety seizes

delKArte, the theatre gradually brings

assumes an elegant

frivolity with

on the

itself

up

theatre.

Propagated by the Commedia

to dale.

Manvaux*, becomes

Traditional with Gozzi.

realistic

it

with Goldoni* and

mocking with Beaumarchais*. It transforms the Opera which, like it. came from that
Italy whose singers are eagerly sought by the European capitals. From elegant music to
pre-romantic drama it is the same progression that throws up the names of Campra.
Vivaldi. Couperin, Rameau, Handel, Bach, Haydn, Cimarosa, Mozart and Gluck in an
unprecedented creative rivalry. Again it is the theatre which marks the great Italian and
German decorative rehgious painting. The French painting of Watteau* and Greuze* is
full of it. The century is rich and innovationist and thus is busy building. All the

Jean-Marc Nattier
Paris 1685-1766
Peniii-nl in the Dcseri

Oil

on canvas
Louvre

2'4" x 2'6'

Paris,

sensualism

the

of"

epoch

is

Prosperity no longer

reflected
is

in

the

new conception of

the plan for hving.

characterised by trappings for collective use but in a

profusion of luxurious or charming detail conceived for individual pleasure. Great


reception halls give

way

to the favoured small, light

and warm rooms adorned with

mirrors, gilts or scrolled stucco.

The

quarrel between the "Ancients", admirers of Poussin. and the

followers of Rubens,

is

settled in

favour of the

latter

"'

Moderns",

by the Baroque. Henceforth the

gods are Flemish and Venetian: Rubens, Tintoretto, Veronese, Titian. Rome, which has
ruled over the arts since the Renaissance,

snakes round,

twirls,

winds

itself

up

bows down

to Venice

and springs back again.

Under

and

Paris.

The

line

a transparent glaze,

colours become lighter. Fashionable and unfettered, the Baroque goes to the limit of

Rococo possibility. It
main centres: France,

Europe but is produced essentially in three


and England. The other countries, although receptive to this

finds disciples all over


Italy

remain aloof. European courts compete for

art form,

Italian

and French

artists

capable

of bringing out local talent.

Rome, however, becomes the cosmopolitan haven where people gather round the
Mengs*, Winckelmann* and the Count de Caylus*. Reformers, assured
of their "good taste" and moral sense, mount an attack on the deplorable "French
taste ". About 1760 they are helped by historical and social evolution. The literary works
of Voltaire and Montesquieu* already have foreseen this turn of events. The Salons of
Diderot are devoted to it. Neo-classicism, style of the militant middle class, comes only a
short time before the French Revolution. It has the same significance.
erudite such as

The French School


Between two periods of militant classicism, French

art

has a breathing

pleasant, easy-going period. But a reversion to the old moderation,

spell.

opposed

It

is

to violent

change, brings a caution born of previous transitions. France slides slowly from the age

of Louis

XIV

plant

leading exponents into

its

into that of Louis

XV. To understand the painting of this period we must


the heart of the new society which follows equally the

thought and pleasure. Court art. noble and emphatic, is as tiring as that
Sun King whose twilight lingers on. The Regence institutes drastic changes. Philip of
Orleans abandons Versailles for Pans the court for the city a simple move, but a
determining factor in the evolution of ideas and art. Emerging from a long-numb state,
society bursts into joy in revenge for so much accumulated austerity. The Regence

cults of serious

old

initiates licentiousness;
tastes, its

Louis

nonchalance and

greater. Political vicissitudes

its

XV

becomes the incarnation of the epoch. He has its


culture. His reign sees the prestige of Paris grow even

do not customarily

lessen the artistic vitality of France, but

never yet has the strategic superiority of thought over arms been so evident!

which must be reckoned with. Renown

From now

up in
the "salons" of Madame de Tencin, the Marchioness Deffand. Baron d'Holbach*or
Mademoiselle de Lespinasse. Here mingle the encyclopaedists, writers, actors and high

on

art

is

aimed

at a cultivated class

is

built

15

Madame

noblemen.

The

artists.

Geoffrin,

whose

prestige

is

international, reserves her

Mondays

for

privilege of being invited there bestows the cachet of celebrity. Selective

domains where the

critical

which the court has

lost.

With

or erudite mind shines, the salons assume the importance

sociability as a

common

denominator,

all

the arts dovetail harmoniously.

The century opens on Campra's Europe Galantc and Fetes


Venitiennes, whose titles alone show the joint admiration with painting. At the home of
the Prince de Conti at the Temple there are crowds to hear an infant prodigy, the little
Music

the

is

rage.

Mozart. Alexandre

Riche de

la

la

Poupliniere entertains the musical

centred around the composer Jean-Philippe

breaks away from court traditions and

in its

Rameau.

of his time

elite

In the opera-ballet the

dance

new-found freedom brings unprecedented

success to talented dancers like Mesdemoiselles Prevost

and

The

Salle.

theatre,

which

creeps in everywhere, has a quick evolution. Marivaux brings a certain rakishness to

Beaumarchais tinges
dramatises

it

with a satirical philosophy, Voltaire gives

Romantic, philosophical or

it.

political,

French

it

the novel

it.

and Diderot

literature spreads

its

clear

language throughout Europe.


Contributing to

this stimulating

atmosphere, the

artist is

institutions peculiar to his calling. Outside the old St

official

adhered to

its

governed by a

of

medieval origin and corporate traditions, there has existed since the middle

of the 17th century a Royal

outlook bears

down

Academy of

Painting and Sculpture whose

so hard on that of its rival that

it is

which requires them to exhibit

at the

more modern

to secure suppression of the latter

before the end of the century. All great painters of the time submit to
discipline,

series

Luke Academy, which

its

teachings and

its

Salon*.

These institutions come under the authority of the King's Superintendent of

whose

Buildings,

influence can be considerable.

Thus

the

Duke d"Antin

re\ives the

Beauvais Factory and gives his protection to the avani-gurJe of his day: Charles de
Lafosse*, Restout*, Lemoine*. After him

La Tour,

restores the biennial salon,

superintendents

who

follow

are

in

named

proteges

1737 Philibert Orry de Vignory. a friend of


after the square salon

of

Madame

of the Louvre.

de Pompadour:

her

Two
uncle

Lenormant de Tournehem. then her brother Abel Poisson de Vandieres. Marquis de


Marigny. The

latter sets off a return to classicism

without too

much of

a blow

to

Only the Count d'Angivillers. authoritarian partisan of painting


debatable dictatorship over art under Louis XVI. In this epoch

individual conceptions.

morals, exercises a

appear the
Louis

first

XVI than

signs of a sobriety

which owes

to the evolution of ideas

less

to the indeterminate tastes of

and the underlying permanence of

classicism. Lafont de Saint-Yenne long has railed against the

Rigaud

a basis

of

Rococo. The position of a

or Restout, whose death barely precedes the advent of Greuze and Vien*.

shows the complexity of


upsurge which began

in

aesthetic tendencies in the middle of the century.

the Rcgence period

becomes married

The

pictorial

in its different styles to

the

graph of ideas and tastes and assumes four successive aspects. After a transitory period
during which
16

it

sheds the

frilly

with elegance and uninhibited vvorldliness.

Grand

becomes intoxicated
Contrasting with the fri\oliiy which made a

trappings of the

Siecle. art

Anloine Wattcau
Valenciennes 1684-Nogenl-sur-Marne 1721
6///f.v

(Pierrot in

The Commedia

on canvas 60"
Pans, Louvre

Oil

x 5'0'

dell'Arie)

Watteau
/mix Pas (sketch)
Oil on canvas I'S" x '4"
\iiii>inc

//;<

Pans, l.ouvre

and inspired the pastorales of Watteau or the decorative


Chardin*

travesty of princely subjects,

allegories of Boucher*, bourgeois realism brings forth the tender integrity of

and the formidable psychology of La Tour*. A reaction sets in and the landscapes of
Hubert Robert * and Vernet* reveal a naturalism that, by now, is Romantic. Deemed
purged by the elevating influence of Greuze,

it

merges

finally into the neo-classicism

which triumphs only shortly before the Revolution of 1789.

The end of the

reign of Louis

XIV and

the Regence see the complete evolution of

the grandiose style inherited from Le Brun. Austerity

genre " which


to a smiling

still

If

a Jean Jouvenet*, in

late,

it

whom

such a wayward apostle

in a

The "grand

myths and opens up

new

style.

precise science of perspective

the

advance

to

gives himself over voluntarily

added to a Flemish influence typical of


away from pious subjects, Restout delves
is

his respect for sacred things

is

too

he would not have dared to draw his creations from the Bible, as did his

predecessor J.-B. Santerre*,

who

making an immense success

succeeded at the end of the reign of Louis

for himself

Daughters, Suzanna at the Bath,

etc.,

logically deprived of a navel, has already


in the

is

and

little in

heterodox century. Departing from the traditional

mythology for a mundane repertory. Because

great,

nephew Jean Restout

and the Benedictines he

the 18th century. While he feels the need to get


into

its

religious convictions are instilled

to support sacred painting for long, his

subjects sought by the Carthusians


to a

less severe.

to

has been brought up on the principles of his master Le Brun, sees too

century for
very

life

world of Venus-saints and Eros-angels. Everything prepares the way for the

advent of Boucher.

who

becomes

co-exists with lighter subjects gives fresh

Chapel of

Versailles,

it

XIV

in

by shocking the public. For him Lot and His


pass into current mythology. His Eve, quite

caused some murmuring. But his Saint Theresa

appears, horrifies virtuous priests and

makes them

avert

L.Reau remarks, "Santerre does not distinguish very well


between the ecstasies of divine love and the spasms of human love". Quite obviously
austerity was no longer current in religious decoration! It is Charles de Lafosse who,
drawing on his double Venetian and Flemish training, first paints in the new style,
decorating the cupola of the Invalides Church. Moreover, historical and mythological
subjects provide the inspiration for his work, which Watteau is to see and admire at the
their chaste eyes because, as

home of

their

common

patron Pierre Crozat. Sensing that he

is

to be asked to decorate

the vault of the Chapel of Versailles, he uses a subterfuge to have the commission passed

on to Antoinc Coypel*, who enjoys the double patronage of the Duke of Orleans and the
Grand Dauphin. With Coypel, religious sentiment makes way for quite profane qualities
of colour and movement.

He

also uses his talents better in extracting diverting subjects

from mythology, such as that nymph daubing the face of Silene with mulberries, or a
frolicsome Bacchus beckoning the spectator to his love-feast. Antiquity offers its great
legends as material for his theatrical passion. His son Charles Coypel*
his father's princely protection

transitional period, he
glittering

and

is

and Frangois Lemoine inaugurate the decorative

Boucher school.

to inherit both

his taste for the spectacular. Quite freed

from the

allegories of the

19

Anloinc Watteau

Embarkation

on canvas
Paris, Louvre

Oil

Jcaii Uaplislc-Joscph Paler

for C ylhera, 1717

Valenciennes 1695-Paris 1736

3'5' * 6'4'

Italian Actors in a

Park

on canvas 90'
Pans, Louvre

Oil

Another

I'

1'

type, the ceremonial portrait, retains at the beginning of the

a strong attachment to the

"grand

style", but with a

8th century

Rubensian touch. The abihty to

achieve the plasticity of expression of majesty with which his contemporaries adorned

may

wins for Hyacinthe Rigaud a record of celebrity which

their king

be astonishing

today.

Soon every European prince

begging the master to give him a

is

little

of the

splendour of the Sun King. All the same, apart from an undeniable aptitude for
capturing the essentials of a face

mother

Rigaud

their leonine
all

the

pomp

as

evidenced by the remarkable portrait of his

scarcely bothered to individualise characters. Hardly varying under

masks, they are worthy


that

is

effigies

surrounded by cohorts of

supposed to go with princes. The whole

is

velvet,

columns,

painted by a team of

" pupils ",

some specialising in tapestry hangings, others in robes, still others in wigs.


Out of the same austere mould come Louis XIV and all his offspring, Peter the Great
and the European monarchs, a crowd of artists of every school and the full hst of
French cardinal-politicians and marshals of the salons. Rigaud's art furnishes the best
possible expression of an epoch in which all individual aspiration already is snuffed out.
.

But he has made


movement which

the portrait into a noble type, thus opening the


is

to

heap

Rigaud's success

is

laurels

art of the pastel, reveals

has to go to

German

Nicolas de

it

for the liberating

eclipses the not inconsiderable talents of others.

Italian

Rosalba Carriera* and La Tour

remarkable qualities

in his portrait

whose

qualities

in

the delicate

of Samuel Bernard. But he

own country

princes to seek the success his

Largilliere*,

on Maurice Quentin de La Tour.

such that

Joseph Vivien*, forerunner of the

way

denies him.

of plasticity and

reckoned with some justification to be superior to those of his

rival,

sensitiveness are

has lived for some

time in London. Under his master Peter Lely, the English Rigaud, he becomes imbued
with the

spirit

Van Dyck

of

before being introduced into the entourage of the

Stuarts. But the Stuarts are dethroned

Rigaud's princely

circle,

and

he has no great

Largilliere returns to

difficulty in

France where, outside

being recognised as gifted. His

scrupulous technique, stand him

last

light

good stead with the elite


of an upper middle class whose importance at the beginning of the century grows
incessantly. His superiority rests perhaps in his eclecticism. Largilliere knows the value of
variety, he can compose a detailed landscape behind two children at play, or break the
and true

tonalities, allied to

in

monotony of the individual portrait by grouping members of a family or a corporate


body. Most often the pomp remains, movement is still fixed, as if cramped by the
sumptuousness of the robes. But the delicacy of
atmosphere of distinction already hint

at

his colours, their clarity,

Watteau. Largilliere also

de Troy*, the vogue of the mythological portrait which

is

to

and an

with Frangois

make

the

name of

The innovation consists less in the use o{ fancy dress than in the
the new criteria of grace and beauty the hierarchy of Olympia
are jostled a little. The terrestrial hierarchy, too; for deification no longer belongs only
to blood princes. Venus takes the lead from Mars with her retinues of Diana. Flora,
Ariadne and Ceres. The court is peopled w ith goddesses of blue and pink, scantily dressed.
Nattier illustrious.

choice of the hero.

20

later

starts,

To meet

ii^^l

'^H

^Jytr

^^^^^^^^^^^HhL

'^^^^^^^^^^^^^^I^H

^KLaf^^:

^K

/ii t'JHl^^l

^^^^^^^Br'*
But

if F.

^^K

de Troy and Largilliere confine themselves to putting several original

Jean-Marc Nattier* sets himself up as a specialist in this type


renown on the shifting sands of a fashion. Maria Leczinska has him
brought to the court. The Ladies of France pass through all the metamorphoses judged
worthy of their rank. Nattier has satiated the court ad nauseam with his dolls' heads with
patricians into fancy dress,

and builds

his

and staring

faces of pink porcelain

them out

in series

clientele that

bestowed

and

suddenly and Nattier

is

Moreover,

his success has obliged

him

to carry

of plasticity have suffered accordingly. The versatile

brought him glory takes

on him. Then he

it

eyes.

their qualities

tries to

it

away from him,

for the very reasons they

had

drop the allegory. But psychology does not come

not able to match La Tour. The aristocracy turn their backs on

him and, temporarily, become

interested in

more

emulated belatedly by Francois-Hubert Drouais,

sincerity. Nattier

who

is

to disguise

is

to find himself

Madame du

Barry as

Flora. All the futility of the century seems to have found a place in his light portraits of

The contribution of Jean Raou.x* has aspects


more complex. Preceding Nattier at the court which he peoples with divinities.
Raoux also monopolises mundane success with actresses and dancers whom he disguises
in their turn. Mesdemoiselles Duclos, Prevost, Camargo or Deschamp. often painted in
the character of their roles, thus "democratise" mythological costume! His work is a
little

princes beribboned or in fancy dress.

that are

delightful testimony to the conjugate importance of the theatre

alone has demonstrated so clearly

22

Walleau.

Nicolas Lancrct

Pans 1690-1743
The

Game of

Oil

on canvas

Berlin,

New

Pkul-dc-hirut.
I

'5' " i'6"

Palace

<

17.^8

in a

and mythology, which he

type different from but contemporars with that of

J
same way

In the

that any revolution

comes only

underground maturing,

after long

the appearance of Antoine Watteau, decisive figure in the French school, at the uncertain

dawn of the
more

century,

striking

when

is

it

a sunburst of

is

what

is

to

come. The scope of his audacity

is all

recalled that thirty of the thirty-seven years of his short

life

the

are

passed under the reign of Louis XIV. Watteau has not lived through the ostentation of a
frivolous

and refined epoch. But he has wanted

it.

Arriving too early in the century to

meet with the success of a Boucher, a Fragonard* or a La Tour, he passes as such a


bewitching meteor that his contemporaries are

left

with no time to realise the importance

of what he has done.


the aspects of his very abundant work,

and

primarily in form. So soon after the domination of Le Brun, the subtlety of his idle

little

Watteau

an innovator

is

in

all

personages and the clarity of his silvery half-tones bring out a boldness that has only a
slight classic flavour.

Watteau, however, has not been to Venice, nor to Antwerp. For

him the Crozat Collection and the Luxemburg Gallery, of which Audran is now the
curator, take the place of Flanders and Italy. The working method of the master of the
fetes galantes

known. His notebooks of drawings

is

in three

colours taken from

life

provide a bottomless reservoir of heads, attitudes, personages always ready to play the
role of extras or actors in the great pictorial

dramas of their creator. It even happens that


same interpreter. He has a

the producer sometimes has recourse several times to the

genius for arranging his compositions with an original balance.

groups whose mass gives a breadth to the landscape-decor


Jcan-Honore Fragonard
Bacchant Asleep
Oil

on canvas

Paris,

Louvre

'6' x

'

10"

in

He

is

fond of seated

which he often places one

23

Jean-Honore Fragonard
The Two Ijivers
'6'
Oil on canvas I'
' x 1
1

Sion. Leopold

person alone and standing up. But

all

Rey Collection

creative activity implies a choice.

The

aesthetic

paradise of Watteau ignores poverty, old age, grossness and the other ugly sides of

life.

His various types are based on a poetic homogeneity for which others long envy him
without, however, discovering

its secret.

Audran has taught him,

arabesque panels, the elegance which wells up


first

teacher, has given

scenes from Italian


his portraits.

him

this theatrical taste

drama or

for the decoration of

in his feies galantes.

Claude Gillot*,

his

which, with music, penetrates not only his

the Embarkation for Cythera, but his entire work, even to

Harlequin, Pierrot, Colombine and Mezzetin are introduced everywhere;

they bring the colours of their costumes, their joy or their melancholy.
in the rustic fairylands

alongside even

taken from an ancient odyssey


sparkling elegance of those

more imaginary,

silky images.

reality also is a spectacle,

who come and go

in the

even

They

No

camp

are present

learned subject

life,

above

shop of friend Gersaint*, for

all

the

whom

he paints the famous " Enseigne". At the height of his mastery, with the assurance that

comes from having

well assimilated the sparse elements that comprise his language, he

invents the fete gakmte. This contemporary of

Marivaux

finally

brings to

life

the

sumptuous domain of his confused desires. In it life becomes diluted in ostentatious


spectacle, in an atmosphere of Paradise Regained. The accuracy of his attitudes, the
mobility of his faces and the softness of his landscapes bring a selective realism into this
oasis of purity.

That a Rural Entertainment may dissolve into a Hunting Rendezvous or a


is not important. His themes are generally interchangeable but have no

Venetian Festival

philosophic pretensions. Less affected by classical culture than his predecessors. Watteau
thus

only the more human. "

is

to games,

libertine

but morally prudent

spirit

His love

to the poetic preludes to love.

affairs

",

he sticks

are always linked with

They never violate that purity with which he surrounds even his nudes. The
fete galante is to become gradually degraded throughout the century until it becomes
erotic in the hands of decadent petty painters. Watteau disappears at a lime when the
courtliness.

Regence
air

is

abandoning

austerity.

The sudden eruption of festivals and pleasure

of truth to his work. But Watteau gives

the carousals of the Regent

and

this ideally-refined society but

later the insatiability

for a host of

In the

more or

it

his mistress

the elegant air that too often

Madame

he has dreamed of

of Frederick

II

it

is

gives an

missing

Parabere. Watteau has not

and sensed

its

in

known

coming. Fifteen years

and the posthumous fame of Watteau open the way

less slavish imitators.

immediate aura of Watteau, however, Jean-Baptiste Pater* and Nicolas

Lancret* deserve special mention.

If

they lack something of the poetry of their master,

they retain faithfully the delicacy of those

Royal Academy. At the end of

his life

/<:7<',v

galantes,

Watteau,

in a

fit

which gains them entry to the


of remorse over the son of his

sculptor friend Antoine Pater, calls Jean-Baptiste to him. Pater admits later to Gersaint
that he

"owes

all

know

to that brief time

which

have turned to good account".

Excessively faithful in military scenes as well as in pastorals, he rcMves almost unchanged

Watteau's sparkling atmosphere, the attitudes of his characters and


24

He might almost

be accused of plagiarism except ihai

ai this

his

composition.

time frequent borrowing by

artists

is

Galante and Blind-man's Buff

many

To

not considered reprehensible.


-dve

the themes of the Concert. Conversation

added that of Les Baigneuses, which has been repeated

times. Also attributed personally to Pater are the illustrations for

Fables and the

Roman comique of Scarron, where

the artist

La Fontaine's

shows he can be as truculent

as required.

Although never a pupil of Watteau, Nicolas Lancret benefits from advice he

work particularly from nature. After Lancret is admitted


young age, a princely clientele ranging from the Duke d'Antin

received from the master to


the

Academy

Frederick
pastorals
poetry.

II

at a very

bid for his paintings.

It

is,

in fact,

the other

hand

his series

of

"games"

to

following the fashion, for his elegant

assume something of the form of imitations of Watteau although shorn of

On

to

are coloured with

all

his

the freshness of

childhood. His genre paintings of modest interiors couple the grace of his people with a
sense of reality quite

new

at this time.

series

of paintings to the " hours of the day

from

his

own

predilection for "cycles"


"

or " seasons of the year

makes him devote


",

which come only

personal imagination, while the theatre, life-blood of the century,

is

insinuated everywhere into works which are a wonderful testimony to the atmosphere in

which they have been created.

Among more
contribures an

distant disciples Jean-Franpois de Troy*, son of the portraitist,

unexpected eclecticism. Decorative painting sometimes claims him.

mythology and the Bible provide elegance; contemporary high society furnishes

his best

and verve are free in the rapid brushwork of his genre paintings such as
Dejeuner de Jamhon, Dejeuner de Chasse or Death of a Stag. He is also "mundane

subjects. Spirit

25

chronicler", which suits

him

More original than many others he has a high


who have been able to exploit the dainty, flowery

dehghtfully.

standing in the prolific line of artists

and spread it throughout the whole of Europe; for each of the types
practised by Watteau has found one or more artists who emulate it. Franc^ois Octavien*
and Bonaventure de Bar* take up elegant subjects again. Charles Parrocel* perpetuates
French

spirit

Huet* decorates the Chateau of Chantilly and the


The "three-colour drawing" finds
fervent admirers throughout the whole of the century before it reaches the spiritual
heights of Gabriel de Saint-Aubin*. However, the range of Watteau's influence is not
the small military scenes. Christopher

Hotel

Rohan

with arabesques and "singeries".

limited to this handful of imitators. His elegance underlines the plasticity of expression

throughout the whole of the century, but


process of accentuation which transforms

in
it

perpetuating

completely

itself

in the

thus

it is

submitted to a

uproarious decades that

The fin de siccle version is provided by Jean-Honore Fragonard.


The joyous Mediterranean seems to have picked the most fragrant flowers from

are to follow.

its

garden of elegance to offer a back-handed bouquet to the virtuous preachers of a

return to antiquity (and to

good morals). From the

rural festival to landscape,

from scenes

of courtliness to the allegorical portrait or the touching family scene, not only
foreign to
to

him but

his style

remains resolutely

anti-classical.

is

the type

Coresus Sacrificing Himself

Save Callirhoe opens the doors of the Academy to him. but he discards a career as

historical painter as too dull,

polette that give

him access

and

it

is

such paintings as Hasanis Heureux

to the boudoirs of

bankers and dancing

cie

I'Escar-

girls, that is. to

fame

and fortune.

The bedchamber scene is to Fragonard what {\\q fete galamc is to Watteau. It suits
As an historical painter he would ha\e been nothing but a Dcshays*. whose
succession had been reserved for him. The " man of matchless mythology and undressed
rogues" makes a mockery of the high-minded watchwords of the neo-classicists. His
preferred field is Debut ciu Modele, La Gimhlette. Le\ Baisers. La Chemise Enlevee. Le
Verroii.
The most daring scene is always tempered with exquisite delicacy Fragonard
never insists, he touches lightly on the subject and moves on. His is the poetry of
him

well.

26

Toulon 1707-Paris 1771

The Ahhe St Non


Oil

on canvas 3'r

Barcelona,

Van Loo

-^ Louis- Michel

iJean-Honore Fragonard
x 2'5"

Museum

Porlraii of Dideroi, 1767

of Modern Art

Oil

on canvas
Louvre

2'8" x 2'2"

Paris,

voluptuousness, the essence of the Latin temperament.

Nobody

subjects in this way.

ticklish

possesses for capturing and turning to his


predecessors.

From

his

It

takes a rare talent to handle

ever had the facility this "sketching genius"

own

use the successive contributions of his

master Boucher he lakes the voluptuous curve, which he corrects

with the elegance of Watteau and the virtuosity of Tiepolo*. "


in

Venice;

should

rakishness to the ultimate beyond which


his

wake, collect a host of licentious

lewd leanings of

this

it

little

no longer

is

painters bent

on the business of

golden age of pleasure. Apart from Boucher, whose

Baudoum. His

field is

is

His Bride Going to Bed, Confessional, Carquois epuise and

demands

In the

their

satisfying the

name remains
and

his son-in-law

pupil,

gouache. His reduced format allows of all subjects.

admiration of thousands of fervent art lovers, and the


in 1765,

was mad about Tiepolo

a part of art. But beside him, or in

linked with greater productions, the only one worth recalling


Pierre- Antoine

have been that man, " he admits. Fragonard has taken

like to

ire

Fille conduit e

raise the

of the Archbishop of Paris who,

withdrawal from the Salon on the grounds of immorality.

luminous wake of Watteau, decorative painting also

shows a marked preference for


pretensions to edification.

It

light subjects, allegories

gets in everywhere, uses

up

is

transformed.

It

without particular emphasis or


the smallest overmantel, vies for

and brocade. The Hotel de Soubise, in whose


decoration most of the great names of this school participated, furnishes the most shining
example. In several European countries at the same time decorative painting maintains a
strength inherited from the Baroque and is the dominant type. The Solimenas*,
the smallest space with stuccos, mirrors

Sebastiano Ricci*, Tiepolo and Maulbcrtsch* have confidence in


represented by Boucher, whose affectations
"

French taste", and a

Of Dutch

series

origins,

draw

it.

France

In

it

is

the fire of international critics against

of lesser painters suffering from a confusion of influences.

the cosmopolitan dynasty of the

Van Loos demonstrates

throughout Europe and the century talents that are tinged by a variety of reminiscences.

France has the greatest. Carle Van Loo*,

Boucher and

realised, in the

French boundaries.
portraits

and

who was

principal painter to Louis

middle of the century, a success that went

XV
far

before

beyond

similar unselfconscious wealth, very appealing, characterises his

his sacred or

mythological themes. His elder brother, Jean-Baptiste*, has

spread his work haphazardly

many

travels as painter-courtier on which he spent


The two sons of Jean-Baptiste Van Loo are to
follow in their father's footsteps. Charles-Amedee* becomes painter to the King of
Prussia; the court of Spain is host for several years to Louis-Michel Van Loo, painter of
that "pretty" portrait of Diderot which the stern scribe of the salons says makes him
look like "an old coquette still trying to charm". In fact the eclectic production of the
Van Loos is always to keep a relative reserve inherited from their Dutch origins which
makes them a class apart in the school of Boucher.

some time

at the

in his

court of Savoy in Turin.

it may be of the school of Watteau, the art of Francois Boucher draws


from a Baroque tradition of which Rococo is only one of a number of possible

Typical as
its

style

manifestations. His master, Francois Lemoine,


traditional mythology.

still

borrows

But his manner already betrays a

his favourite
lively

themes from

admiration for the

27

Francois Boucher
F'aris
I.

Oil

1703-70

Pi'iiic

Jardiniere

on canvas 20'

>-

1'6'

Rome, National Gallery of Ancient Art


Barbcrini Palace

^^^j

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W^F'

'^M

^^1

4^

t^
Ir^

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^^^^

kik ^^^^^^^^^^s^J^I^

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J

.^
"v^^

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ov

15^

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-/

<fi!^^H

^
"^^^^OhK
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I -^

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V
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contemporary

Solimena and Sebastiano Ricci. After several religious composi-

Italians,

tions the fine ceiling of the Hercules Salon in the

Chateau de Versailles wins him the

of Principal Painter to the King. If his mind, impaired by overwork, had not led

title

him

to

Lemoine might perhaps have brought great vigour to French


more lewdness. His blue and pink
pastorales, full of sensuality, seem to have lost the initial purity of the fetes galantes.
Doubtless they are equally imaginary. High society, however, was bound to find in his
suicide a year later,

decorative painting. Boucher's temperament leads to

"daintiness, his romantic gallantry, his fantasy, his facility, his variety, his brilliance, his

made-up

flesh tints

and

his

debauchery"' the scarcely inaccurate picture of

their

and put him in the front rank of


the French school. Qualities which Diderot sometimes attributed to him are easily
recognised in the delicate decoration of the Hotel de Soubise and the portrait of Madame

customary atmosphere and thus

de Pompadour.

He

also leaves

the royal mistress has given

him

raise

to a pinnacle

some admirable drawings. The generous protection of

him access

to the tapestry

works

Beauvais and Gobelins.

at

combined with ailing eyesight, distorts his


become very insipid. Although
acceptable as an adjunct to ornate architecture, Boucher's art does not stand up well by
itself. His voluptuous nymphs do not bear comparison with the elegant ladies of
But the arduous nature of

this particular art,

sense of colour, and his tonalities, particularly after 1750,

Watteau, or the likeable libertines of Fragonard, whose


dared to become involved

in aesthetics, is

Boucher. The philosopher's criticism

is

spirit

they lack. Diderot, having

reproached for having been too severe with

occasionally prophetic.

Another pupil of Lemoine, Charles Natoire* a former director of the French

Academy

in

Rome, wins

fame alongside Boucher

a measure of

Hotel de Soubise and the Medal

Room

in the

decoration of the

of the King's Library, where he paints the story

of Psyche and that of the nine Muses. Even more so than Boucher he has contributed to
his sugary, superficial painting. Rococo ornamentation,
room for great themes. The reduction of space available for
decorative painting in the new style of architecture sends the painters back to tapestry.
The phenomenon of Chardin throws light on a less pretentious but primordial

the decline of the


it

is

Baroque with

true, leaves little

aspect of this

same epoch, whose

son of a cabinet-maker

have passed by, but which

Chardin
little

is

classified

diversity

is

regarded style to the highest

level

Modest and home-loving,

this

form of poetry that imitators of Watteau

" painter

and keeps

this is the colourist, " cries Diderot, filled


in a

surprising.

of significance. Nearer to Vermeer or the Le Nains,

full

by the Academy as a

compositions". Alone

is

in Paris is to reveal a

it

of animals and

fruit ".

there until 1733. "This

with enthusiasm at the

fidelity

He
is

takes this

the painter,

of his "mute

dimensional way where only Jeaurat* and Lepicie*, or more

and Oudry*, ever came near him, Chardin subconsciously discovers


the aesthetic equivalent of the most advanced philosophical reasoning. The trueness of
his colour harmonies, the bloom of his fruits, the softness of his materials, the quality of
rarely Desportes*

his silence catch simultaneously the eye, the feeling

'

Diderot. Sulou 1761.

and the

ear.

29

Related to the "sensualism" of Condillac*, his art also

thought of the period with his persistence


object to root out

its

secret,

which

is

in

reflects the rationalist

searching right into the substance of an

not the "soul " attributed to

by the Romanticists

it

"magic" which
makes him revered by Diderot, who feels the deep naturalism of his work. "One might
say of M.Chardin and M.de Buffon* that nature has taken them into her confidence."
At the derisive suggestion of his friend, Aved*, he ventures into other pictorial types in
but

its

profound truth beneath the

1733 with Lxidy Sealing a Letter.

makes poetry of

visible skin.

series

It is

undoubtedly

this

of domestic scenes, bathed

the daily tasks of his class.

No

in

a padded silence,

question of rowdy ostentation.

No

question, either, of gross misery. But a tenderness, a sensitivity, an accent on truth,

which, added to his divided touch and his handling of reflection, go beyond realism to

show

the universality and continued existence of the

Catherine
explains

II,

why

human

race.

The

Frederick the Great and rich art lovers for these peaceful

asked to

make

frequent replicas which spread his work

scenes

all

over

imaginative, he takes his characters from his immediate friends.

The

the artist

is

Europe without ever bringing him more than very

Not very

liking of

little

relative material wealth.

children of his friend Godefroy the jeweller are seen drawing, playing with tops, building

marvellous

portraits, each the essence of an anecdote. At the end of his


happy when he moves into the specialised field of the pastel,
leaving us that moving self-portrait which shows a Chardin grown old, sheltering his
poor eyes behind round spectacles which even accentuate his legendary bonhomie.
Appreciated as it may be by artists and amateurs, Chardin's art at the time has less
appeal than that of Watteau. But the importance of Chardin is not measured by its

houses of cards

life

the results are equally

immediate influence.

A. fete

galante by Watteau, a composition by Chardin, they are the

very essence of the French 18th century.

The

rising tide of popularity of the portrait

the multiple aspects of this

mythology

its

Nattier.

moving

period.

throughout the century

Realism pushes the type to

portrait, bringing out once more the


beyond outward appearances.

pomp had

Regal

its

characteristic of

Nattier's son-in-law, Louis Tocque*, has already


for a clientele

accustomed to

flattery.

its

is

evidence of

Rigaud, elegant

peak with the psychological

Chardin

at his

peak of going

shown himself to be too

realistic

His sense of realism soon closes the doors of

French nobility to him and he has to turn to the middle

classes.

However,

his portrait of

Queen Maria Leczinska brings him invitations to the courts of Russia and Denmark.
The qualities of Maurice Quentin de La Tour come to light at a moment when
contemporary society has reached

Admitted to the Academy with


the salons of
niere,

Madame

its

greatest

his portrait

Geoff"rin,

Grimod de La Reyniere and Le Riche de La Pouplinew ideas are afl"ecting literature,

resemblance, excels in animating a face.


in a

of culture and refinement.

the theatre, the Opera, every place where

philosophy, politics and music. La Tour, apt as

30

intensity

of his master Restout, he assiduously frequents

all portraitists in

The grain of the skin,

capturing a physical

the gleam of an eye suggest

quick stroke that intensity which seems to be concentrated

in the

depth of a gaze.

The softness of the pastel is flattering and


kingdom is at the feet of La Tour who, lavish
with superfluous advice, demands exorbitant prices. They find him charming. But are
they always aware of the psychology of this mischievous pastellist? "They think I have
only taken the features of their face; but unbeknown to them I go right down to the
depths and show the whole of them."
The self-importance of a banker is drawn into his attitude and the expression of
his mouth; the habitual charm of his "celestial friend" Mademoiselle Fel, the intelThe multiple

smile of the century

Everyone who matters

seductive.

there.

is

in the

ligence of d'Alembert*, the sensuality of

Maurice de Saxe can be seen particularly

impressive "preparatory sketches" gathered together at the Saint Quentin


his native

not

town. But the

last long.

fixing

of the colours.

number of

his

artist

becomes obsessed with Diderot's idea

He becomes absorbed

in

was

out of

is

made

their

charm before

him a lamentable death. "This perfection

reach," he cried, revealing the total distressing despondency that

to topple his reason.

Adulated by an aristocracy that saw

no

caprices of a gifted child, he captivated

and the

that his pastels will

sudden outburst from Tocque prompts him to retouch a great

works. Thus he brings back the freshness which

human

in

long research on different methods for possible

sinking into a mental twilight which brought


seek

in the

Museum

of the gallant

fiercest detractors

less the

style,

in his insolence

only the

avant-garde of bourgeois intellectuals

Diderot and Lafont de Saint- Yenne.

While La Tour held out for four years before agreeing to paint the portrait of the

Marquise de Pompadour,

Perronneau* scoured the provinces and the whole of


was
search of
He
to be found in Holland, Italy, England and Russia.
The virtuosity of the one easily eclipsed the more sober talent of the other. However,
Perronneau's gifts of colouring, the subtlety of his blue and grey colour harmonies, win

Europe

in

his rival

clients.

He

out over those of La Tour.


left

some admirable

portraits such as those of

J.Cazotte and numerous local

Amsterdam,

officials

whom

Madame

he met

made

his

Stadhouder William IV

second home. The


in his

latter, in

armour. The

oflftcial

the "Turkishness" to which he gives himself for

stamp on him and


admirable

whom

he has

de Sorquainville, J.-B.Oudry,

in his provincial travels.

He

dies in

Holland which welcomes French painters and where Aved, called the

in this

Batavian, has

also succeeds in finding a choice clientele of

owes

to her he

in its simplicity

humble world of his

and

his greatest

faithfulness.

friend Chardin,

nostalgia for lost simplicity brings a

the middle of the century, paints the


portrait barely befits liim

some

time. But

more than

Holiand has put her

work, a portrait of Madame Crozat which

He

goes on to confine himself at

where he has the

ability to

is

last to the

be great. In the same time

new wave of portraitists even

into the court.

Joseph Duplessis* excels as the anti-Nattier of the reign of Louis XVI. Approved

by the Academy

in 1769, this

human resemblance than


which responds to

its

modest man, more concerned

like

Chardin with portraying

deifying his subjects, gives pre-Revolutionary society the style

feeling of expectation.

The middle

class,

harbouring some mistrust

regarding virtuosity, appreciates the conscientiousness and precision of his drawing,

which

is

shorn of any concessions to

abundance of

clients

from men of

facility. It offers

letters, artists

and

him, outside female subjects, an

politicians, such as Cafficri, Vien.

31

Gliick, Necker.

Benjamin Franklin. ... As

official portrait

painter to Louis

out the formal portrait. But the grandiose style does not suit him so well; he

XVI he tries
is not made

of the same stuff as Rigaud. but his access to the court at such a time gives him a certain
prestige.

Meanwhile the vogue

Rosalba Carriera's

for the pastel, consolidated since

success in Paris and hallowed by La Tour, has brought about an unprecedented surge of

feminine talent, which feeds the most abundant market of the century. But the pastel

is

and two women achieve fame through a less specialised


contribution. The masterpiece of Adelaide Labille-Guiard*, pupil of La Tour and her
husband Vincent, a vigorous portrait of the sculptor Pajou. undoubtedly wins her entry
to the Academy. The more feminine talent of Elisabeth Vigee-Lebrun* derives successive
styles from Greuze, Nattier or Drouais. Her light and pleasing summation of the
not the only reason for

it,

century's portrait art soon wins over to her the city and the court.

make Madame
Her name

spirit

Antoinette.

Vigee-Lebrun the

made.

is

It

official

seems that

unconscious of what was happening around

it, is

portraitist
in

this

Her charm and her

and friend of Marie-

effervescent

period beauty,

concerned only with superficial modes

David brings a taste


for antique poses and she adopts the Greek head-band and tunic which refine the figure.
As the Revolution approached, the illustrator of "The Austrian" was inspired to leave

easily satisfied

France.

draped

by a

versatile brush. Shortly before 1789 the style of

said that during ten years of her exile a certain painting of Marie-Antoinette,

It is

in black,

To be

was her Sesame

to the

doors of the princely

accurate, the reign of Louis

specialisation.

The

XVI does

elite

of Europe.

not produce a genius in the

field

of

Greuze and Fragonard. The


than moralist. Here there is no longer

best portraits of the period are those by

former reveals himself as a much better portraitist

any melodrama. In the portraits of

his father-in-law. the bookseller Babuti.

the engraver Wille or of the musician Gliick,


colourist; realism

is

tempered with

of his friend

Greuze displays unsuspected

gifts as a

the delicacy of the refined century, but

all

its

mannered style. In his enthusiasm Diderot compares it to a


Rembrandt or a Van Dyck! He appreciates less, on the other hand, the dazzling

simplicity avoids

all

virtuosity of Fragonard, perhaps too audacious for the period. His brush en\elops a face
in

a fine swirl of vivid colours until no resemblance

reading, inspiration, music.


the

How could

this "

is

retained, but only the symbol:

busybody genius

"

have

failed to

top off

most representative type of the century with an original contribution?


But the long vogue of the portrait, which made some

artists rich, brings

about

such competition that a number of artists must either vegetate where they are. go abroad
or specialise in a style that
this sport to a place

is

less practised.

Thus Louis XV's passion

of honour and brings about the

rise

for hunting restores

of the animal painter. In the

first

and Oudry occupy a quite exceptional place. Francois


to the King of Poland before becoming hunting painter to

part of the century Desportes

Desportes has been portraitist


Louis

XIV and making an

international success for himself as painter of animals. His

great tapestry, Nouvcllcs Indes^ a series of eight pieces, remains celebrated. Also leaving
portraiture,
^2

J. -B.

Oudry devotes himself

to the hunt just at the time

porary Watteau dies. As hunting historiographer to Louis

XV

when

his

contem-

he makes an immense

Jean-Baptiste-Simeon
Paris
I.iuly

Oil

Scaling a

on canvas

Berlin,

Chardm

6^- 1779
l.i-llcr,

4y

1733

-410'

Chariolicnburg Palace

contribution to the royal tapestry factories, in particular the great Hunts of Louis
the

Compic^ne

These open-air compositions introduce

landscape to painting and carry

realistic

the seeds for a renewal of the classic. Aristocratic by the nature of

themes, animal painting


that cult of nature of
priests.

satisfies a latent

clientele

and

its

which Jean-Jacques Rousseau

soon to become one of the high

is

Desportes and Oudry also have had merit enough to show that the beribboned

painters of battles such as Charles Parroccl,


scenes, Fran(;ois

still

in

decorative painting. After them

quite dazzled by Watteau's military

Casanova*, brother of the Venetian adventurer, and

Loutherbourg*, contribute to reviving the taste for landscapes


figures as

an accessory, but

story.

it

is

felt

to be closer

and ready

in

his eclectic pupil

France. Nature

seascapes from Vernet, sometimes

shroudmg them

in

still

to overrun the

animal or

him

exiled to

Fantastic Loutherbourg. whose escapades are to have

England, sees the rhythm of the sun and the seasons

their

its

need for the natural and prepares the way for

sheep and the foolish virgin have no monopoly

human

XV in

Forest.

in the

countryside or borrows

storms. But sea or mountain,

dramatic intensity which brings profuse praise from Diderot.

He

likes this "

it

man

is

of

33

who

pathos

speaks to the soul".

content with the art of his time, the

Finally,

philosopher-critic rejoices while he deals with Joseph

Vemet.

This elder of a diffuse dynasty has passed nearly twenty years

coming

to

conquer a France that

serenity of his Italian landscapes


his " Ports

of France

",

more and more

is

soon a darkness pervades

moon

before

quite classical

skilful

and

topographer animates with

his seascapes, setting off to

advantage

or the flashes of the storm. Vernet dramatises nature, seeking

fame

striking contrasts. His international

concerned with the

in Italy

The

to lend colour for several years to his seascapes

ordered by the King, which the

a handful of people. But

only the light of the

the better prepared to receive him.

is

is

owed

to clients

who

are

more

than with delicacy. His workshop becomes a sort of factory

effect

producing nocturnal storms and stereotyped moonlight.


It is

a very different interpretation that his

contemporary Hubert Robert puts on

Duke de Choiseul, takes him to Rome in


1754 just as Vernet returns from the Italian capital. He passes ten years there during
which he makes many friends and acquaintances. Panini*. then very well known in his
own country, passes on to him his passion for ruins. A little later Fragonard arrives and
the landscape.

they

become

The Marquis of Stainville,

friends.

Both pass bewitching months

hearts' content, with the

except his

little

later

collar".

Abbe

St

Non *

Fragonard

fills

"

drawing to their
was nothing ecclesiastical

at the Villa d'Este,

whom

about

there

nature with poetry, Hubert Robert decks

it

out

with melancholy ruins into which he puts picturesque lower-class people. Back in France

he never departs from these romantic ruins, which become the rage. "

It

was very much

in

and very magnificent to have one's salon painted by Robert." Madame


Vigee-Lebrun relates. The ancient monuments of Nimes and Orange take the place of the
Coliseum of Rome for Robert. His imagination supposes the great gallery of the Louvre
to be in ruins and he assembles there, at will, monuments from many sources.
the fashion

This curious frame of mind makes him an attentive chronicler of demolitions


Paris. Precise

and rapid strokes

tell

of the burning of the Opera, or the destruction of the

bridge at Neuilly, encroaching on the

who

in

domain of

multiplies the picturesque scenes of Parisian

the charming Gabriel de Saint-Aubin,

life.

In his personal version of restitution

of conjugality to nature and the antique, "Robert of the Ruins" links two aspects of the

preoccupations of his time,

in a

technique that

is

a forerunner to Impressionism.

Watteau and Fragonard, Jean-Baptiste Greuze would hardly

In the century of

have been important had he not made concrete the evolution accomplished

in the ideas

of the eve of the Revolution. The social phenomenon has assumed more and more
importance. Throughout

its

philosophers and

its

writers the middle class imposes

its

conceptions. Marmonlel's Moral Fables and Rousseau's Social Contract appear in 1761.

The outbidding

in

provoke a disgust which

eroticism which has

is

made

fortunes for small masters begins to

echoed by Diderot. The Count of Angivillers makes use of his

powers to ban not only licentious subjects but all showing of nudity in paintings. At the
same time it becomes good taste to be tender. The "tearful play" of Nivclle de La
Chaussee comes shortly before the " bourgeois drama " of Diderot and Sedaine*.

Chardin
Iai

Pinirvoycuse

Oil

on canvas
Louvre

Paris,

\'b' x

'3'

Maurice Qucntin de La Tour


Saint-Qucntm 1704-88
Piiririiii III J van- J lU lines Rousseau
Pastel

r6'x

Geneva,

\y

Museum

of

An

and History

Maurice Qucntin dc La Tour


The Negro, 1741
Pastel 2'2"'<

Geneva,

IS'

Museum

of Art and History

From

this

mixture comes the painting in Greuze's

style, " the first ".

according to

Diderot, "to be advised to give morals to art and to put together events from which

should be easy to

make

a novel

".

it

Unfortunately, morals and literature do not constitute

the criteria of a quality of plasticity.

Greuze never accepted the

which the Academy bestowed on him

To

title

of "genre painter"

dream of a "grand
" good
upbringing " in a series of paintings whose tonalities are grey and faded. The actors in his
Paternal Curse and Bad Son Punished play out the bitter melodrama.
In fact the whole of Greuze's production seems to rest on a misunderstanding.
This man was not born to eulogise virtue. Hence the equivocal aspect of his symbolic
paintings in which a non-genuine simple young girl with her bodice half-open has always
style "

lost

at his reception.

he draws on comedy and the novel for

realise his

which preaches

this literary painting

or broken something: Broken Mirror, Bird Flown Anciy, Broken Pitcher, so

many

poor implications which, by comparison, are so rewarding as they stand without the
deviations of a Fragonard. Despite their dullness and greyness, these compositions are a
great success in France
his

and abroad,

contemporaries did not

late, this

like

particularly in Russia.

Greuze

for the

wrong

One wonders

if

Diderot and

reasons. Like an old rake repenting

declining century proclaims a doubtful Puritanism.

But the new

style expresses

an aspect of the era important enough

to be the

movement of which Nicolas-Bernard Lepicie remains the


movement half-way between Chardin and Greuze. Fragonard himself,
around 1775, comes under the joint influence of Greuze and Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
Family bliss is made the object of a series of paintings whose titles, from Fragonard, arc
somewhat surprising: Happy Family, Visit to the Nurse, Education Does Everything.
Fragonard shows all the symptoms of an edifying conversion.
The return to virtue is to be accompanied by a return to the antique. As the

decisive factor in a pictorial


best exponent, a

elegant style slowly deteriorates, this

38

is

countered by the ever-insistent neo-classical

pressure. There, during the last few decades, art records the

approach of the Revolution.

Mlisabcth-Lduisc Vigcc-I.cbrun

Jcan-Baptistc Pcrronncau

Paris 1755-1X42

Paris

Port rail oj

Madame

yigiT-l.chrun

and Iter Daughwr. c. 789


Oil on wood 40' '211'.

Oil

Paris.

Louvre

1715-Amslcrdam

178.^

Portrait of Jvan-Baptistc Oiidry

on canvas 4'3'
Louvre

Paris.

'*

3'3'

The

ideals of the Tiers-Etal

movement gradually sap the tastes of the decadent class,


Roman republics makes scintillating mirages of their

while the far-off reputation of

The Roman

uprightness.

cult to

which Voltaire and Montesquieu have been devoted

since 1730 has recruited followers among cultured minds such as the Count de Caylus
and Lafont de Saint-Yenne. The craze for archaeological expeditions first at Herculaneum in 738 and then at Pompeii, the anti-French theories of Mengs and Winckelmann,
1

Roman aesthetics that a veritable fashion is established,


Madame de Pompadour's own brother, who has become the

have given such an interest to


even

down

to costume.

Marquis de Marigny and

is superintendent of the King's Buildings, takes this reaction in


"
hand, aided by a sworn enemy of Rococo, the engraver Cochin. Against the " little style

the immutable perfection of the antique


is

advocated.

It is

is

the age of trompe-roeil,

established. Imitation of sculpture in painting

monochrome and

judicious.

of the great decorative painting comes from the pupils of Boucher.

Baroque dynamism with Doyen*, Deshays, Durameau

Marquis de Marigny had maintained a


his successor, the
artistic ideas

Count

of Louis

d'Angiviller.

taste

and

critical

From 1774

XVI by recommending

and

J.-B.

The major
It

part

retains all

its

Pierre*. But the

sense that were to be lacking in

to 1791 the latter seeks to

artists to seek inspiration

examples of antiquity, and not to neglect French history. The

impose the

from the great

artists are patriotic.

A horde

of lesser painters benefit simultaneously from the infatuation of the rich with Pompeian

commissions. Hence the vast compositions


Amours by Vien and illustrations of French
history by J.-B. Suvce * and F.-A. Vincent*. Louis-J. Lc Lorrain * reverts to Homeric
themes and decorates a room for Lalivc dc Jully in the Greek manner. Lines arc strained,
movement fixed. Vincent may perhaps acquire a lasting name for his acclimatised
"Spartan" style but his small talent is eclipsed by the triumph of Louis David*, whose
Oath of the Horatii in the Salon of 1785 marks the advent of a new era, long anticipated
simplicity,

from

artistic privileges

and

official

of Menageot*, the insipid Marchande

in the

process which culminates in the Revolution of 1789.

Jean-Baptiste

Oudry

Paris 1686-Bcauvais 1755


Slill-lifc

Paris.

il"

with Violin

Louvre

39

Jean-Baptiste Greuze

Tournais 1725-Paris 1805


Pot trait of a Little Girl
Oil on canvas 1'7' ^ 13'

Rome. National Gallery of Ancient


Barberini Palace

Art.

The
It

is

Italian School
very difficult to discern an Italian entity in the

century. Italy appears as a

IHtli

juxtaposition of independent principalities between natural


division, together with the

retains

own

its

spoken than

sometimes even a

local peculiarities,

Italian.

common

frontiers.

Austria, Spain,

language that

local

is

Parma, succeeding the Famese

Since the Infante


Farnese,

is

Don

Philip,

territory;

who

are also

in 1731.

V and

son of Philip

XV,

the son-in-law of Louis

city

more widely

Savoy and the Church share out the

Naples passes from Austrian domination to that of the Spanish Bourbons


installed in

This

overthrow of successive dominations, means that each

the court of

second wife Elisabeth

his

Parma becomes

a place of Franco-

Spanish influence. Beyond these divisions the names of Servandoni* or Galli Bibiena*,

whose genius has organised the most brilliant festivities in European capitals, become
Throughout this avidly ostentatious century the great scenography is
Italian. But in an area more worthy of the artist's brush, the rare common characteristics

international.

As everywhere

linking the regions of the peninsula belong in the social field.

the middle class has acquired importance in a social structure that

Painting records this

phenomenon

in finding a

new

realism.

much harm

penetration of rationalist ideas has not done

On

is still

the other hand, the

to religion which, with the

language, remains the most important linking factor. Quite cleared of


aspects, the

Church insinuates

the other.

to

itself into all levels

Aristocratic in

ecclesiastical elite,

it

not

of

society. Right

made

this

plays

it

with Popes,

it.

But

if

From Neapolitan Baroque

to

austerity, each city reveals

its

inquisitorial

are patrons of art, and the


in

Bologna, where

its

priests

part in the craze for luxury which seizes the

its

is

to be found

who

has

religious subjects are excluded, the Italian school

century presents the greatest variation

Roman

who

throughout the century hardly a painter

his contribution to

its

of society from one end of the territory

assumes a middle-class complexion

frequent the salons. In Venice

whole of

Rome

Europe

in

aristocratic.

in

themes and

Lombardian

own

realism,

particular style.

styles.

from Venetian gracefulness to


It is

true that in

most cases the

beyond the first one-third of the century. After that


down to a Rococo movement which triumphs first in

great outburst of art hardly extends

the situation clarifies

itself,

to boil

countered at the end of the century by the neo-classic movement which

Venice and

is

Rome

impose on Europe. Chronologically, distant Naples,

is

memory

to

still

vibrant from the

of Luca Giordano, inaugurates the period.

Far from the great centres of living

art

and prey to

Francesco Solimena to thank for maintainmg


1709 Austria takes possession of

it

and gives

its
it

political upheavals,

artistic position

a Viceroy, Charles

Naples has

the 18th century. In


III.

Solimena

profits

without difficulty from successive protections. But as against the vicissitudes of temporal

power the Church

offers a

permanence

that

is

beneficial or formidable as the case

may

be.

economic and moral power that is better cultivated than alienated. From
the beginning Solimena has been careful to ensure the favour of the Jesuits by decorating
It

constitutes an

41

Gesu Nuovo. Soon overwhelmed with orders, he covers the churches of


his city in spirited frescoes. Recollections of Luca Giordano, brought out with a tumult
of colour in the manner of Pietro da Cortona, they also contain traces of the influence of
the chapel of the

the Carracci.

From

power but a

clarity

the

Baroque the ensemble

and new lyricism

is

retains volumes,

rhythm and inventive

already heralding Tiepolo. For these reasons

Solimena, at the beginning of the 18th century, occupies a key position. However, he

does not hold a complete monopoly on local decorative painting. Francisco de


represents a calmer trend,

de

Mura

which solemnity

But

maintenance of the Neapolitan painting movement.


Corrado Giaquinto* already displays a joyous and Rococo-tinted
of touch. To Rome, Turin and Madrid he takes an affected refinement of art in

The

justify the

likeable

which mythology and

adorned with elegance. Giuseppe Bonito* turns

religion are

gradually from sacred subjects to the

Naples

Mura

with refinement of form.

vies

allows himself to be coaxed to Turin, leaving only the prolific radiance of

Solimena to

lightness

in

in the

more temporal

universe. Painter to the

middle of the century, he transforms the casual anecdote or the

King of

rustic genre

and shade. But without realising how he excels in this


sort of refined genre painting he gives it up for collective portraits in the cold, neo-classic
style. Bonito also loses much of his importance when some of his best works, from
Neapolitan Masks to Wounded, are attributed to his junior, Gaspare Traversi*. Abandoning the popular scene, Traversi opens up a veritable comedy of morals, full of irony
and psychological finesse. As far as he is concerned the Baroque style in great decorative
painting has gone for ever from Naples to be supplanted by the realism which from now

means of coloured

picture by

on appears even

light

in sacred painting itself.

This new current, which

is

to have so great a place in Italian painting, flows

through Bologna where, from the early decades of the century,

it is

fuel for the

first

audacity

Dubbed "The Spaniard ", Crespi


and Guerchino in his own fashion and is able to

of several modernists such as Giuseppe Maria Crespi*.


blends the teachings of the Carracci

draw

his

own

art patrons

personal style, essentially human, from the mixture. His independence of


and of tradition wins him renown that sometimes is tinged with censure. It is

true that this product of the austere 17th century has

qualms. Sacred or profane subjects become one

grandiloquence disappears

in

is

Little inclined to pathos, Crespi's

to

life

concern for metaphysical

5"/

all

brush blithely colours the Seven Sacraments

Woman Washing

Dishes, a forerunner of

Chardin. Central figure of the Bologna school of the 18th century, the
is

which

in the

the humblest scenes such as his

Piazzetta* and Pietro Longhi*

style in

John Nepomuk Hearing the

same luminous serenity as The Flea


which wins him the favour of Ferdinand of

bathed

or The Massacre of the Holy Innocents,

and brings

little

an anecdotal

favour of discreet humour.

Confession of the Queen of Bohemia

Tuscany.

in

man who

instructs

partly responsible by his teaching for the dazzling

Venetian sunburst. But Bologna has reigned too long over European art not to put up

some
42

resistance to a realism born of the

Crespi,

Donato Creti* puts forward

most advanced philosophical

his aristocratic

ideas. Against

mythologies and rural paintings

Hubert Robert
Paris 1733-1808

Bridge with
Oil

Women Washing

on canvas

Clothes

2'5' x 3'0'

Rome, National Gallery or Ancient

Art,

Barberini Palace

which have a more candid Hnk with local tradition. In other respects

his arcadian idylls

with their subtle elegance are nearer to the works of the French /e/e5 galantes painters

than those of his

The

first

between the

own

half of the century sees an intensification of the flow of exchanges

of the north. Artists

cities

Milan, Turin and

prosperous

cities

daring compatriot.

Modena

move about

easily

are dependent even on

on the roads

to Europe.

The most

and Verona, Piacenza, Parma,

nomad

painters attracted to those

original Florentine has just that sort

of vagabond nature. Francesco Zuccarelli*, painter of

idyllic pastorals

and beribboned

mythologies, abandons his native city for London, where most of his works are to be

found, and for Venice, whose " Accademia " welcomes him to membership and even

makes him

its

president.

While Florence

lies

dormant, the extravagances of the House of Savoy and the

geographical and political position of Piedmont give Turin a special aura. The genius of

one of the greatest artist-decorators of the century, Juvarra, gives

it

simultaneously a

Rococo framework and luxurious

productions that remain celebrated. At the

festival

Royal Palace and Slupinigi Castle a profusion of stuccos. of Chinese lacquers, of


overmantels raise great pictorial themes up towards the

ceilings.

local painter,

Claude

de Beaumont*, and the Nice-born Savoy national Carle Van Loo cover the ceilings and
the apartments of the

Queen with decorative

The famous

allegories.

Stupinigi hunting

and the Royal Palace, are decorated by numerous painters


the Van Loos, or more often from other regions of Italy. On the road

lodge, attributed to Juvarra,

from France,
to

like

Madrid, to London, to St Petersburg,

artists in

perpetual transit like Giaquinto,

Mura, Guglielmi* and Bigari* make more or less protracted


its palaces and churches.

Beilotto*, F.de

halts at the

court of Savoy and leave their works in

Challenged by

Giacomo

this brilliance

Lombardy seems to take up the gauntlet with


movement that already has nurtured the

Ceruti. Ceruti belongs to that realist

art of Crespi or Ghislandi*.

But as

his

nickname suggests.

confines his world to the most poverty-stricken classes.

powdered wig, but humanity


faces of

in rags, the

Brescia,

Bergamo and Padua

Genoa, particularly

and Meeting

in the first part

trends in Italy, his style must isolate

11

Pitochetto" (The Beggar)

Not

for

fixes
in the

stares, those

him and

limit his success.

has given birth to an exceptional genius, a

In his tragi-comic universe the weird invades daily

life.

known

as Lissandrino.

nervous stroke gives a

fantastic imagination transfigures the anguish of the

century of his birth and Magnasco preserves

its

dark obscurity as part of his magic. But

his obsession with light, his theatrical taste, his spaces limited or terrestrial, his
line,

make up

playful,

grave

on children. Little information is


Wood. Traces of him are found in

forerunner of the daring Romanticists. Alessandro Magnasco*.

shelter of a

of the century. Despite the strength of realist

in the 18th century,

disturbing mobility to his objects.

him the

needy with their burning

premature adulthood which daily misery

available on the painter of Portarolo

"

the originality of his contribution to the

new

era.

broken

Half-demoniac, half-

an hallucinating atmosphere of macabre animation surrounds these groups of

poor wretches and half-starved mountebanks. To what fantastic Witches" Sabbath are
they going, these bewitched punchinellos whose clothing catches up little pieces of fire?

What
in

its

monks

strange rites are those Capuchin

one of their order, or bustle about


relentlessly

close spaces,

carousals that are less elegant,

Watteau.

He

in a

practising as they dance at the funeral of

weird library? Magnasco's universe encompasses,

sarabands of frenetical skeletons, strange funerals,

more romantic but

also

more imaginative than those of

uses darkness as a pretext for bursts of light which put a

around the poorest

objects, accentuate each break of line,

cameo browns with sumptuous troughs of incandescent

and

reds or

muted

blues.

disappears before his unrepentant taste for the picturesque, noticeable in


scenes as well as in his chronicling of everyday
field

of dreams.

An

of interest

in

of gold

The

tragic

his monastic

which Magnasco abandons the

attentive observer, he captures a gesture or an attitude almost to the

point of caricature in one rapid stroke.

44

life, in

hem

gets into the heart of a

Magnasco

at the turn

mind Goya* and Daumier. Revival


century after a long oblivion brought on by his

He

of the

brings to

Giuseppe Maria Crespi


Bologna 1665-1747

Hdmun Washing

Pixhcs

Florence, C'anlmi (oiicclion

Alessandro Magnasco

Genoa 1667-1749
Naples, Capodimonte

*-

..ar

own unorthodox

miracles and daring art forms

is

paints the patrician Meeting in a Garden, in which

not just accidental.


all

the elegant pleasures of a sister society to that of Watteau. In the

freedom of

style that leads to

genius stems from his

own

When

he

finally

terror has been eliminated,

Guardi, Magnasco's contribution

is

movement

it

has

to secure

considerable. But his

imagination alone and has no link with anyone around him.

does not inspire any local painter to carry on his tradition.

When Magnasco

It

dies before

Genoa in its turn drops out of the art world.


number of dormant cities Venice reasserts herself again with

the middle of the century,

Among

this

bouquet of a society that wants to die as


18th century resumes

the final
this the

way with an almost schematic opposition between a brilliant


rare essence of the new aesthetics, and a nervous Rome which

to destroy this style. Their struggle

international importance. In the

young and

has lived, with elegance. After

its

Venice, which has the

works furiously

it

first

winds up

in

two successive reigns of

part of the century Venice spreads the influence of

and the glory of her past throughout the whole of


Europe. From 1750 onwards Rome begins to reap the fruits of its sombre demolition
work before definitely reducing different European aspects of the Rococo to ruins.
Venice, international city of luxury and pleasure, crossroads for adventurers and the elite
of the whole world, races through its last century of grandeur as if seeking by a wave of
her

the

wand

reality

successful school

to bring

on

its

and the game,

has loved.

From

in

own

inevitable decadence. Venice blends

an intense confusion symbolic of

all

life

and the

theatre, the

that 18th-century

Europe

the celebrated " Ridotto " (Casino), where crowds gather to play, to the

where everything

is discussed with passion, and to the watery thoroughfares which


months of the year carry a carnival masquerade, Venice is at the same time
Europe's bawdy-house and its permanent theatre. And like all theatres Venice, indulging
in its own pleasures, occasionally reveals a glimpse of the other side of the curtain. The
painter or writer must find there a profusion of material, dazzling or ironical. Moreover,
as in the rival city of Paris, an innate sense of knowing how to live produces a coexistence of mind and pleasure. More than any other form of expression the theatre
raises a tumult of passions. Everyone takes sides for or against the satirical comedy of
manners of Carlo Goldoni or the more traditional Fiabe of Carlo Gozzi. In a way they

cafes

for six

are also taking part in a decisive struggle. Goldoni's realistic

common sense represents


When both sides fail to

the middle class against the aristocracy as defended by Gozzi.

Most Serene Republic declines into a combination of patrician


grandeur and ostentation and middle-class realism, simplicity and scepticism.

gain a victory, the


frivolity,

Hence, undoubtedly, the extraordinary range of Venetian genius which

hundred years breeds such

in less than one


and sacred successes as those of

theatrical, mythological

Sebastiano Ricci, Piazzetta and Tiepolo, the meticulous precision of Canaletto and
Bellotto, the

the

calm irony of Longhi and the poetry of Francesco Guardi*. At the end of
which has only been a long fallow period between two flourishing

17th century,

harvests, Venice shakes

off"

the paralysing complexes which have

great ancestors, the Tintorettos, Veronese, Titian.


for their palaces, the

Church

for

its

The

churches. This revival at

made

it

a slave to

its

aristocrats need decorators


first

touches on the painting

47

of religious history and mythology.


principles of the

Baroque begin

From

the end of the

17th century the

academic

and allow of more colourful

to lose their severity

elements.

Jacopo Amigoni*, who borrows something of the vast mythological composition


of his master Solimena, spreads his work haphazardly throughout his
Traces of

it

another vagabond

travels.

London, Bavaria and Madrid, where he becomes court painter

are found in

before ending his errant

many

life

there.

But the

first

great luminary of the Venetian revival

is

Sebastiano Ricci. At the instigation of his nephew Marco,

artist,

already in London, Ricci leaves Venice for England

not, however, before

visiting Paris

is received into the Academy with a flattering Allegory to the Glory oj Frame.
Queen Anne's England, still poorly endowed with great painters, gives him a warm
welcome which is to last for ten years. His itinerant life, which takes him through
Germany and Flanders, explains why his abundant works, of which the best examples
are found in Schonbrunn and Hampton Court, are so widely disseminated. Ricci is the

where he

first

to

change the Baroque into Rococo. Receptive to

all

that

spearhead of a coloured religious painting movement which


pupils

Marco

most from

Ricci* and

his

lessons,

Gasparo Diziani*. But

sensitivity

Antonio

propagated by his

Pellegrini*

who

benefits

Germany, Austria and France.

Pelle-

throughout Europe works that are particularly remarkable for the coloured

of his features.

particular

glorifying the Elector Palatine. His

by adoption. But he

European

is

new. he represents the

to be

which have consolidated the example of Luca Giordano.

Travelling tirelessly through England, Flanders,


grini leaves

it

is

is

is

work of

his

a scries of fourteen paintings

is

contemporary Antonio Balestra*

is

only a Venetian

assured of a position and soon receives commissions from several

courts. Teacher of Rosalba Carriera, Pietro

Longhi and Pietro Rotari*. he

exercises his influence on several other Italian artists. Among those emulating him.
Giovanni Battista Pittoni*. during time spent with Sebastiano Ricci and Tiepolo. draws

48

on the graces of

his

most

brilliant

period before drifting into the zone of indefinity that

Giamhattisla Pia//ct(a
Venice 1682-1754

Alcssandro Mapnasco

The h'oriune Teller

Composllion. landscape

Oil

Lugano, VanoUi CollcclJon

Venice.

on canvas

5>'\' ^

Academy

3'9'

Giambattista Tiepolo
Venice 1696-Madrid 1770

The Emharkalion
Sketch lor fresco

Strasbourg

in

Museum

the Labia Palace. Venice

Rococo from neo-classicism. This ineptitude of choice, while giving his


work an impression of improvised styHstics, causes him to be considered, about

separates the
proHfic

1760, as the great master of historical painting.

He

constitutes an interesting exception in

the Venetian school. But his predecessors, transitional painters, have paved the

way

for

the prodigious outburst of the last great decorative painting.

pupil of Crespi, G. B. Piazzetta

Caravaggio. But a new

spirit

The

sharply-defined contours.

"

Venetian Caravaggio " turns tradition to his

using only coloured shading. This

with a dramatic intensity,

more

skill in

contrast, which

easily brings

begin to resemble the work of Tiepolo.

with softness

remembers the lessons of Guerchino and

soon bursts out everywhere, with sculptural dimensions and

when he touches on

fame

to his "

fills

Assumptions

The emotional vigour of

the Bible with

own

the

".

which already

Baroque

lights

Rebecca or Suzanne. But

it

particularly in the fantasy of his non-religious compositions, his genre scenes


pastorals, that Piazzetta
in his

is

the precursor of Tiepolo. In his

use.

the Beheading of St John

sumptuous ochres and

up
is

and

blues,

masterful range of light tonality he traces the regal progress of the Venetian school.

This liberation of his style dates from about 1725. The end of his career

is

the official ratification of his position at the head of the Venetian school.

also capped by

He

occupies the

Academy in 1750. Apart from the influence he


has many admirers and pupils. Giuseppe Angcli* has

highest post as Director of the Venice


exercises

on Tiepolo, Piazzetta

assimilated his master's art so well that after Piazzetta's death he

is

given the job of

completing some of his paintings. As for the Dalmatian Fcderico Bencovitch*. he takes
to

Vienna the new Venetian colours

which

is

which he adds a

sort of personal

romanticism

not without influence on the Austrian school.

It is

Giambattista Tiepolo

the century the precocious

50

to

who

fame of

brings the

this great

new Baroque

to full

flattering orders for religious or non-religious decoration start

ViUorc (ihislandi

San Ixonardo 1655-Vcnicc

174.^

Si^nhoard fur the liarhcr Olctia


Ik-rgamo. Carrara

Acadcnn

autonomy. Early

in

admirer of Veronese causes jealousy. Most


oflT

his intense activity.

Venice,

Germany and Spain

sources and

its

are to be the

atmosphere to the

main

beneficiaries of painting

which owes

one vast parade? Tiepolo brings together, with the same elegance, allegory,

mythology

history and

in a gigantic ballet spectacle, courtly

or impious at

religion,

will.

tumults of bodies are grouped together and dispersed into the infinite space of his

coloured ceilings.

its

theatre. In this era, in fact, wasn't aristocratic Hfe just

Great
light-

crowd of curious people, painted in illusionist fashion, lean on the


The Baroque lights up with a smile. In his

balustrades which run along the cornices.

ardour for

move about under

aerial ballet, bare legs

the yellow or red brilliance of

costumes which gives added value to the adjacent cold tones. Trumpets spread across
clouds that also

through the

let

upward movements.

It

is

light.

Bodies appear

giddy foreshortening of

in the

impossible to go into the detail of works which, from the

Rezzonico, Clerici or Canossa Palaces to the Villas Contarini, Soderini or Cordellina,


cover the walls of aristocratic residence with delirious allegories. Rarely has decorative
painting assumed

such diverse aspects.

motley carnival crowd bursts into the

Papadopoli Palace with their masks, their mountebanks and their musicians. The
frescoes of the Labia Palace narrate the tragic love of
the palace

Baroque
is

becomes

to the

a theatre. But

it is

probably

the Villa

Antony and Cleopatra, and


Valmarana which, from the

Rococo, has the widest range of endlessly recurring fantasy. There tribute

paid to the theatre with the Sacrifice of Iphigenia in the

Grand Saloon. The

epic poetry

of Virgil, Homer, Ariosto and Tasso provides the themes for the elegant decor of four
consecutive rooms; and a dazzling animation of mythology and carnival

seven rooms of the guest-house where also are to be found


rustic festivals

and

on

who

his frequent

It is

this

paints most of those

"Tiepoletto", responsive to the daily spectacle of the

little

Venetian chronicles, from masquerades to minuets.

Gian Domenico Tiepolo

Pielro Longhi

Venice 1727-1804

Venice 1702-85

Pierrots at Rest

Mural, painting on canvas 6'6"


Venice, Ca" Rezzonico

loose in the

The reason for this diversity lies partly in the fact that
Domenico and Lorenzo, collaborated with him, following their
travels. The former seems to have played a far more important role

than was once thought.


city,

is let

surprisingly natural

chinoiseries.

Tiepolo's sons, Gian


father

some

The Perfume Seller


x

41

1"

Oil

on canvas 20"

17"

Venice, Ca" Rezzonico

51

I'lclro

Longhi

Ihv Concert, 1741


Oil

on canvas 20'

Venice,

Academy

'7'

with their poetic reaHsm. In the Villa Valmarana


those he

is

may be found themes

Sweden, Giamhattista Tiepolo accepts,

in the

middle of the century, another invitation

from the Prince-Bishop of East Franconia to decorate


three years of intense

work he covers

staircase with frescoes.

There he

Emperor, amid the stuccos, the

tells

his residence at

room and

the great reception

gilding, the leafwork

the

in

the flight of

in the deification

Prince-Bishop on the arch of the staircase, marks the peak of an art

powerful themes of the High Baroque while surpassing them

still

of the

using the

boldness of

in the

its

planning. At sixty-five, indefatigable, Giambattista Tiepolo

goes off to glorify the Spanish monarchy on the walls of the royal palace

An

where he never returns.

monumental
Holy Roman

and mouldings which make up the

Apollo's Chariot in the ceiling of the great reception room, or

its

Wurzburg. In

the story of Frederick Barbarossa, the

Rococo ornamentation of Neumann's construction. The virtuosity

multiple colouring and

identical with

an invitation from the King of

to paint later in his villa at Zianigo. Declining

in

Madrid, from

incessant lightness increasingly demonstrates his incom-

parable mastery. Terse, rapid drawing underlines the extemporaneous look of his

compositions painted after his return from Wurzburg. Diametrically opposed to the
realism which preoccupies a whole concept of Italian painting of the period, Tiepolo does

not bother either with the

human

quest for spectacular quality.

before

it

It

content or religious considerations in his relentless

The imaginary

disappears the Baroque finds a dimension which

was

its

splendour has lacked.

inevitable that Venice, having applied the great part of

decoration of
likenesses of

arouse his enthusiasm. Thus

suffices to

palaces and churches, would also

its

its

most

feel

its

genius to the

the need to perpetuate the

As everywhere else in Europe the taste for


with prosperity. However, compared with their French or

illustrious citizens.

portraiture runs parallel

English opposite numbers, Italian portraitists occupy only a minor place in the world of
painting.

The

half of the century has already provided

first

in

best in this field with

known

Vittore Ghislandi,

wondering monk

its

links

as Fra Galgario, whose education rather than his life as a


him with Venice. Honorary member of the Clementine Academy

Bologna, he has a curious way of linking a taste for the ostentatious with that of truth.

In his case

an indispensable richness of costume balances rather than overshadows the

sincerity of a face. His extravagances in attitude or in surroundings contrast with this


style

of realism and

make him

the psychologist of the formal portrait. Ghislandi has not

placed his brush at the service of any one class, but his masculine portraits always

an admiring predilection for the lustrous robes of local

harmony, he remains the


sense of elegance

exponents of

to the

sumptuousness of period and

show

master of colour

place.

which remains secondary, the high-society

Carriera suddenly wins Europe-wide fame in

Today

best of a school of portraitists distinguished particularly

wedded

this style

officials.

Among

pastellist

by a
other

Rosalba

1720 after a triumphant stay in Paris.

comparison with the pastels of La Tour makes Rosalba's look chalky and

lacking in vigour.

The absence of strictly

disciplined construction gives the impression of

However, the delicateness of her materials and the softness of her


seductive enough to bring quickly to the Venetian artist some of the most
inconsistency.

light are

brilliant

53

Antonio Canal, called Canalctto


Venice 1697-1768
The Piazzi'lla

in

Venice

Ascona, von dcr Hoyt Collection

commissions. Thus

is

honoured with a chentele that includes


King of Denmark, Crozat and Law. and particularly the
who had nearly one hundred of her works! But the best Venetian

the modest pupil of Balestra

the Elector Palatine, the

amazing Augustus

III,

portraits, after Ghislandi, are


styles.

Tiepolo excels

in

found

in the

occasional contributions of masters of other

posing a high dignitary

in his special

surroundings. Pietro

Longhi, Amigoni and Francesco Guardi paint admirable portraits, but

it is

particularly

Alessandro Longhi* who, profiting from his father's fame, paints the portraits of
Venetian society.

From

the aristocratic Giulio Contarini da

Goldoni he leaves detailed pictures

in

Mula

to

all

Cimarosa and Carlo

which he combines accuracy of expression with the

harmony of his colours.


The relative reserve of Venetian

delicate

artists

by the thousands of other attractions which


them the whole year round.

towards the portrait

is

no doubt explained

their extraordinary city

and

its

spectacles

offered

In striking contrast to the great flights of Tiepolo. the

Longhi, with

its

different aspect of Venetian art.


liking for the picturesque, as
in

Longhi takes from

shown by

art

o'i

Pietro

and Crespi, a
crowd gathered
Longhi is above all a

his masters, Balestra

the Visit to the Rhinoceros or the

the ''Ridotto". Like his friend Carlo Goldoni. the writer.

reprcsenlalive of the middle class of his time, a middle class

54

modest

realism tinged with slightly waggish foppishness, shows a completely

new-found importance. He captures with

still

finesse the first steps

quite awestruck by

its

of the Venetian nouveau

Bernardo Bellotto, called Canaletto


Venice 1724- Warsaw 1780
Entrance
Oil

it>

the (iranJ

on canvas 110'

Canal

in

Venice

x 2'7'

Private Collection

He shows them receiving dancing lessons or having their


own homes. He shows them singing to the accompaniment of the

riche into the fashionable world.

hair dressed in their

clavichord played by a companionable priest. Pastel tones of equal strength are subtly

placed alongside one another without the least worry about contrast. Hence an air of

which powdered figurines put up with a life to which


become accustomed. The slightly naive indecision of his characters
also helps to give them that look of puppets in their Sunday best which sometimes
borders on dryness. The well-behaved little world of Longhi has neither the caricatural
faults of Hogarth nor the tenderness of Chardin. However, both are brought to mind and
the worth of his work may be judged by the enthusiastic way in which his contemporaries
sobriety, of quasi-indifference in

they do not seem to

acclaim his

little

accounts of daily

While Longhi

life.

sticks to observing his contemporaries,

numerous

artists yield to

Marco Ricci with his romantic


dream pastorals, have gone to satisfy the innate taste of
English for landscapes. Those with an inquiring turn of mind move about, eager to
and learn. This ambulatory phenomenon assumes fantastic proportions throughout

the lure of travel. Since the beginning of the century, a


characters, a Zuccarelli with his

the
see

the century. In the


Italy

for

which

Roman

is

summer of

1785 alone, 40,000 Englishmen

make

the classic tour of

an indispensable part of their education as gentlemen. They take a passion

archaeology, go into ecstasy over the marvels of Venice. Everyone wants to

take something back as a souvenir of their travels.

Well before the end of the

55

Gianantonio Guardi
Venice 1698-1760
//

Ridoiio (The Casino)

Oil

on canvas

3'7' * 6'8'

Venice, Ca'Rczzonico

17th century artists painted the urban landscape

and there

is

no doubt

that

painter lived well on this trade, particularly in Venice. But with the

assume an

18th century the "vedutists"

artistic

many a smart
dawn of the

character which they never had before

except as a background to the religious compositions of Carpaccio or Pinloricchio.

Now

Luca Carlevaris*, who has done his first work in Rome, introduces the urban panorama
into art by means of engravings. From 1703 onwards his compilation of 120 Fahhrichc e
vedute di Vcnezia assures him of a considerable English clientele, and starts a school. But
it is his great pupil Antonio Canal*, called Canaletto, who concentrates on raising up this
style.

among

After a childhood passed

the great city decorations that his father painted,

Canaletto goes to Rome, where his contemporary Panini enjoys youthful renown from
his paintings

atmosphere of
art

of ruins and opulent receptions. Little


his

youth

in the first

is

known of

his

life,

but the

twenty years of the century predestined him for the

of the Venetian landscape.

he

Tirelessly, lovingly

with perspectives of

luminous as
sea.

it is

is

up delicate contrasts between sky and


Count Algarotti and the less disinterconsul, Joseph Smith, Antonio Canal acquires at the same
perfect business man. Smith had the ingenious idea of
set

the influential friendship of

ested admiration of the British

time mastery and renown.

the artist

and repaint the coloured variations of his city


to the smallest detail. In an atmosphere as

down

humid, serene architectures

Honoured with

combining

to paint

accuracy

strict

his diplomatic functions with the business

and the English gentry, thus

setting

up a

of acting as intermediary between

sort of

brokerage

in art.

The master of

Venetian architectural scenes gets out of this arrangement, under which he was being

'

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fc

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11

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m

exploited,

and goes

to

London

greatly appreciated.

fame personally. His success

to enjoy his

Marco

eclipse even that of his fellow-countryman

a decisive voyage by reason of the impetus

It is

architectural painting, of

which Samuel Scott*

is

become

to

so great as to

is

whose landscapes, however, are

Ricci.

it

gives to English

the leading exponent.

Canaletto takes advantage of two successive stays in England to paint views of the

Thames and the English countryside before returning by way of Germany, where the
name of his nephew Bellotto is becoming known. There he paints views of Munich. But
the works of this voluntary expatriate often appear rigid. By comparison, they provide an
understanding of the marvellous balance represented
are bathed

in

Venetian "vedute", which

in his

compensate for the rectangular

the special light of the lagoon. In fact, to

immobility of his palaces, and add more interest to them, he needs

animation of the gondolas and the


sky and water.

It is

Venice that Canaletto

in

is

great.

On

the second Canaletto, Bernardo Bellotto, often suflfer

more noticeable when he


from

suffered

hand the landscapes of

the other

from an excess of precision, even

He

exercises his talents outside Venice.

Too ambitious

his uncle's fame.

the picturesque

all

world of colour interposed between stretches of

little

has benefited and

to be satisfied with second place, this

impenitent traveller goes off to seek fame with European princes, particularly in

Dresden, which becomes his second home, and

The two Canalettos, meticulous


of the camera ohscura, centred

all

Warsaw, where he

in

their art

round

concern for topographical

their

accuracy. They enjoyed the success that technical prowess, providing


fails

to bring.

The

the point where he

inspired fantasy of Francesco


is

dies.

artisans of the great city perspective with the aid

Guardi

is

less

it is

tangible, never

appreciated

forced to yield to his elder brother Gianantonio*,

who

even to

directs the

family hottcga (shop). But he has since been recognised as the painter of the Life of

which so

Tobias, the previously disputed frescoes

Raffaello

in

Venice.

"fantasies" Guardi

is

Thus

history

does him

already opening the

way

insensitive objectivity of the landscape to his

individualism.

Too much,

dazzling virtuosity of his

who

is

justice.

for Impressionism. In subordinating the

own

personal feeling he shows a very daring

probably, for an era which did not appreciate, either, the


little

figures in

changing attitude or the gesture which


Canaletto,

adorn the church of San


With his "vedute" and his

lyrically

is

tied to the lasting idea

whom

he captures

made. His way

is

in pale bright

colour the

quite different from that of

of a petrified and serene Venice.

concerned with the permanent, Guardi wants to show the succession of


moments which animate a city. His capriccios quiver with a continual coming
and going. His poetic vision makes too rigid perspectives more supple and gives a silvery
Little

fleeting

sheen to the dirty waters of the canal.

which

is

emphasised by changes

robe makes a hole

in the

It

transforms the ordinary with a sparkle of gold

in his line.

At the turning of a

ochre of a wall. Guardi

is

street the

carmine of a

the Venetian depository of that part of

is demonstrated by Magnasco or Loutherburg. He is


whose brush captures with the same sprightly zest a strolling

prc-Romanticism which otherwise


the enthusiastic onlooker

vendor

at the

corner of a thronged

calle, the historical

event of the

visit

of Pope Pius VI,

the flight of a balloon above the Giudecca, or that traditional Ascension

Day when

the

57

Doge embarked on
the sea.

the Bucentaur decked out in crimson and gold for ritual nuptials with
Guardi dots the gala atmosphere of the lagoon with black gondolas, a fabulous

scene of an immense theatrical fairyland. In the final years of

Venice comes under the rule of


pleasure which portend

the sinister "

Council of Ten

collapse turns into a

its

mad

resplendent picture of that Venice and confirms,

if

race.

",

its

splendour, in which

the appetite for luxury

confirmation were necessary, that

periods of political or economic decadence often bring extreme refinement to

Guardi, with his brother-in-law Tiepolo, represents the


tury.

His death

in 1793

comes

as a

and

Guardi's work perpetuates a

finest

art.

of the Venetian 18th cen-

symbol of the disappearance of a republic, the decline

of a class and the end of an aesthetic period.

Rome frees opposing forces that

In the era of the death of Venetian art,

building up for a long time. She intends to govern European art from

now

have been

on. In the

part of the century her pretensions, expressed locally, hardly cause any worry.
prestige

first

The

and richness of her past make her a mecca for tourists rather than a city involved
movements. Wealthy tourists come to admire the vestiges of past grandeur,

in living art

pupils of the French

Academy come

prolong those much-appreciated

Impervious to outside influences,

to

visits,

complete their
but

Rome

is

it

is

classical education.

them

rare to see

the ideal setting for a

Some even

settle

new

in

Rome.

attitude to

antiquity.

The

first

typically

Roman

Locatelli blends traces of

expression naturally comes in landscapes. Andrea

Claude Lorrain and Albani into

Arcadian mythology takes the place of grandiloquent

his pastorals,

artifice in the

Rosa. His best pupil. Giovanni Paolo Panini. frequently recalls

But

in his

case the

monumental balances out

which

this rural

atmosphere.

the bucolic. In addition to an incontestable

his compositions great documentary value, Panini


possesses the art of being able to " tame " a ruin, always setting against the solemnity of a

knowledge of the antique which gives


58

in

manner of Salvator

Francesco Guardi
Venice 1712-93
Departure of the

"

Bucenlaur"

for the Ascension Day Ceremony


Oil on canvas 2'2' x 3'3'

Louvre

Paris,

Roman
Yet

arch the colourful spectacle of ordinary people going about their daily

his transitional realism

tempered by a jauntiness which

Imaginary

fantasy of his

pleasant

is

Views.

may

affairs.

be responsible for the

make

His perspective shortcomings

his

compositions both mobile and seductive. At a time when his contemporary Canaletto, as

unknown, was

yet

arriving in

Rome,

the city already

knew

made

young painter known. An opportune marriage with

the

director of the

Academy of

whom

name of

the

Panini.

and the Quirinal have

Prestigious commissions for the Alberoni Palace, the Villa Patrizi

the sister of Vleughels,

France, adds the favour of French society.

would be wrong to recognise only a clever painter of ruins, has


an acute sense of the fete and the crowd. His Visit of Charles III to Benedict XIV is a
veritable social ballet in the most brilliant tradition. He pictures, with the same obvious
pleasure, the Piazza Navona artificially inundated to the very great joy of an elegant
crowd of onlookers. These diverse qualities make him one of the great figures of the
Panini, in

it

Settocento.

Too much

in the

same period

as the

Rococo

to be quite free of

it,

these artists,

fame equal to that of Pompeo


Batoni*, pupil of Sebastiano Conca* of Naples. Combining the study of Raphael with
that of the ancients, he first composes great frescoes for palaces and churches. His
subjects and styles come directly from classical antiquity. One seems to be present at the

despite their local renown, have not reached a height of

Education of Achilles by Chiron and the Farewells of Hector and Andromache

in

an

this apparent communion with


proclaim their Batoni as " the restorer of art " and equate him

atmosphere of cold solemnity. The Romans, proud of


their prestigious ancestors,

with the celebrated Mengs. At this time neo-classicism has broadened

who

Brescia,

Lucca and Parma, exports

Europe.

From

titled travellers,

His

statues.

his

in

Batoni,

Milan,

remodelled mythology throughout the whole of

the courts of Russia, Poland, Prussia or Portugal, commissions flow

of the princes of the locality

Portraitist

of

its field.

has already painted frescoes in numerous provincial churches of the north,

he freely places his lofty subjects

clients, particularly

in.

Benedict XIV, Clement XIII and Pius VI and


in front

of antique stones and

Englishmen such as the Hon. John Staples or Joseph

Leason, Earl of Milltown, greatly appreciate his sense of the grandiose. Batoni, however,
allows something to penetrate through his

work

Baroque and shows the transitory aspect of


But

complete

this

triumph has gone

style that

is

far

that indicates regret for the not-distant

his art.

beyond

his personality.

credited to him. His friendship with the

It

is

the abolition of a

German

archaeologist

Winckelmann puts him in the centre of Roman cosmopolitanism. After 1755


Winckelmann publishes his Reflections on the Imitation of Classic Works in Painting and
Sculpture, followed in 1764 by a monumental work of erudition. History of Art Among
the Ancients.

universal

only

way

and

From

this springs the theory that

that, the

to revert to

Two

it is

in imitating

years earlier another

on Beauty and Taste

beauty

Ancients having discovered

in Painting,

it

is

not contingent, but one and

and brought

it

to perfection, the

them.

German, Anton Raphael Mengs, published

Reflections

which constitutes an authoritative declaration of the

59

Francesco Guardi

Gala Concert. 1782


Oil

on canvas

2'3' x 3'0'

Munich, Pinakothck

proposed new line. Mengs exercises an influence that is wider because of the fact that he
moves about freely and thus joins practice with theory. After his debut in Rome as a
pupil of Benefial*, he makes frequent visits there. From the court of Dresden to that of
Madrid the wandering theoretician spreads his theory throughout a Europe which by

now

ready to be converted. His opposition to the great Tiepolo

is

at the

court of Madrid

is

a good illustration of the struggle between the two tendencies. At this time the

is

conquered. The immense glory which Europe accords to Mengs makes him the master

Rococo

of the new era. This reputation seems more justified by his theoretical works than by the

manner
His

which he applies them. He shows himself to be

in

style, certainly simplified, is still

in effect a transitional painter.

nurtured by the golden fairness of Titian and traces

of Correggio. Relegated today to a more equitable rank,

Mengs

in

any case deserves to

be recognised for his quality as a portraitist.

And

likewise with Angelica

and

likeness

among

Kauffmann*, whose

a finesse in colour compatible with the

others,

the very fine portrait

new

of Winckelmann.

portraits retain a

simplicity as

Of

pleasant

proved by,

is

Swiss origin. Angelica

Kauffmann divides her time between London, where she becomes a founder-member of
Academy, and a Rome triumphant in the final years of the century. Her studio
becomes a centre for intellectuals and artists won over to the new ideas which they are to

the Royal

propagate

in their respective countries.

The English School


The

18th century

lethargy,

it

is

England's Golden Age of painting. Arrogant and

suddenly makes a striking contribution to European

needed a mixture of

bloom of

artists

and

political,

else, for great

William

among

III,

artistic

economic and cultural circumstances

patrimony.

mental feasting.

Queen Anne, George

Still

poor

and George

and
in

victorious royalty

is

makes

the journey to

London

It

has

bosom of

ready, after so

indigenous talent, the England of

II is

content to spread

its

foreign artists. She entrusts commissions to the Italians Ricci,

Pellegrini; she

long

to culti\'ate such a

to preserve the originality of the English school in the

Gallic Europe. After the Treaty of Utrecht a rich

much

fertile after a

a veritable triumph for the

bene\olence

Amigoni and

two Canalettos.

Philippe Mercier* follows his patron, the Prince of Wales, across the Channel and sets in

England
go to

{\\c

fetes galimtes inspired

Italy to study,

by Watleau,

who

and pass through France, with

Painting in the English 18th century, which

also

made

whom
is

the \oyagc.

The English

there are fertile exchanges.

to extend to nearly

1820 with

Raeburn and Lawrence*, gets off to a slow start. Its birth coincides with the era of
prosperity opened in 1760 by the accession of the popular and cultured George III. The
comfort of material riches and peace releases the pent-up desire for luxury and pleasure.
The whole of English high society travels, dances, has a portrait painted. Painting
becomes the mirror of this society, fiercely and passionately decried by some and
60

glorified with elegance

by others.

%i(>

i!!^
\^:

-^^:^ ff;iHi^'v'

?''->,'i-V'T'

'.%''

The

II

IK
tf

WS<^

Wil
1P

.-

'-

Li1

cultural context

is

brilliant.

Music

ri"

profits

from the pro-English propensities

of Handel, two of whose works are interpreted to celebrate that capital event for
England, the Treaty of Utrecht. With Berkeley*, philosophy discovers in sensationalism
the very principle of existence, although

it

remains very steeped

Locke and Newton, which the French are to

As

for literature,

Young, the writers

it

experiences

in the materialism

of

"civilise".

some of

its

most intense moments with the poet

Swift, Pope, Daniel Defoe, Fielding,

Goldsmith* and Richardson,

grand masters of the novel and often companions of painters

in intellectual

meeting-

The exceptional fecundity of this period could not fail to stimulate the whole of
artistic creation; England no longer is to be dependent on foreign contributions for she
raises her own painters who come up to the expectations of her society. A century earlier
she had had to call in the prestigious Flemish painter Van Dyck, whose spirit played a
capital role in the orientation of the English school. It was Van Dyck who brought a
breath of Venice across the Channel and it is Van Dyck who is responsible for the long
vogue for the portrait, lasting up to the beginning of the 19th century. Finally, it is Van
Dyck who holds the admiration of all the young painters who become masters of English
places.

painting. But the birth of an important school

also experienced the quarrel between ancient

Young and

poet
1740.

the painter

not without

Hogarth* assume leadership of an

At a time when continental Europe

to classicism.

is

is

its

troubles.

and modern. Tired of

fruitless

England alone builds her own form of expression which

is

manifest at

dogmas, the

anti-classical revolt

about

beginning the inverse movement of a return

originality without ever clashing with the general concerted

This originality

England has

first in style.

is

able to retain

its

harmony of Europe.

Impervious to the tumult of decorative

movement is also alone in standing up to academic pressures, which come


it. The English movement proceeds from the Baroque, but it finds an
excess of Rococo too repugnant. The styles it practises arc few. Apart from the very insular
painting, the

too early to shake

satirical

and

is

tendency with

its

caricatured realism, the portrait occupies the majority of talents

perpetuated throughout the reign of George IV in almost identical form.

61

Francesco Guurdi

The Grey Lagoon


1784-9
Oil

on canvas

10' x

VY

Milan. Poldi-Pczzoli

Museum

The landscape, on the other hand, gradually assumes importance, but attempts
"grand painting" are too tied to neo-classic movements to make themselves felt.

One

trait in the

English character

typically national process,

a critical sense

is

which

speech, painters and writers set themselves


paint from

life,

in

up

Everyone

all

whose

1695 prompts numerous artists and painters to

is

able,

its

freedom of

failings they

At the

The suppression
become caricaturists. The

the favourable conditions for this existed.

through

his art, to attack with

The novel of manners becomes


impunity a government which

the butt of opposing factions or a frivolous, opulent society that

misery.

attitude of

sufficient

as censors of an era

print facilitates denunciation of turpitude of all kinds.


biting.

is

either as purely descriptive observers or as pitiless critics.

beginning of the century,

of censorship

expressed through a

is

humour. While the morals of a society or the

public figures are not irreproachable and while, in addition, there

at

is

is

oblivious to mass

The year 1722 sees the appearance of Daniel Defoe's Moll Flanders, the story of a
The way is open for painting of morals, of which Hogarth is to become the

courtesan.

leading exponent ten years later.

Born of a modest family. William Hogarth lives at first on portrait painting, a


which permits him to devote a considerable part of his time to forms of
expression more suited to his temperament. He frequents the studio of Sir James
lucrative type

Thornhill*

and elopes with

his daughter. This starts a quarrel that

genuine celebrity accorded to Hogarth


Progress.

As an engraver he

of prints.

He

is

able to

1732 for his

ends only with the

first satirical suite.

The Harlot's

make mass reproductions of his work

in the

form

suddenly becomes so popular that reproductions of his work are used for

Giovanni Paolo Panini


Piaccnza 1691-Romc 1765

X/y

Bi'ni'Jici

l.amhcrtini

Gonza^a
Oil on canvas 40"

and Cardinal

Silvio

Valcnti

>

510'

Rome, Rome Museum, Braschi Palace

decorative purposes, and his prints are even counterfeited.

with the
sorts.

title

Honour

is

bestowed on him

of Sergeant-Painter to the King, while his work raises polemics of

Apart from

his

portraits,

of which more

later.

all

Hogarth, the indefatigable

reformer, has devoted his art to satirising his period.

On

the moral level debauchery

and prodigality are

Mode, and others

vilified in

and adultery, intemperance and gambling, vanity

The Harlot's Progress, The Rake\s Progress, Marriage a

so many scathing satires on his contemporaries.

No

la

class of society

escapes his censure.


If he tolerates religion, he is ruthless with bigotry and the clergy and, in his own
words, fights " the monstrous effects of a base and literal conception of holy things as

well as the idolatry tendency of church paintings

and images of piety".

In the political field he devotes the Election series to the corruption of Parliament

and

wanders slightly towards xenophobia. Thus he is


whose success in the London Opera annoys him, and
against the French, whom he has never forgiven for expelling him from

electoral venality. His nationalism

dead

set

against the Italians,

particularly

Calais on suspicion of spying

when they caught him making

sketches of the city gate.

That adventure brings down on France a venomous print entitled Calais Gate or

the

Roast Beef Of Old England.

On

the artistic level, however, Hogarth, arriving early in the century, has to fight

to defend his convictions.

With the poet Young he

first

demands an

art stripped

of

antiquated formulas and a return to creative freedom. In 1745 he intrigues the art world

by drawing beneath a very

fine self-portrait a

sinuous

line

with the enigmatic inscription:

William Hogarth

William Hogarth

London 1697-1764

The Graham Cluldn-n

Calais Gale

London. Tate Gallery

London. National Gallery

"The Line of Beauty and Grace". But


ideas

and

he goes beyond the concrete expression of his

1753 publishes the Analysis of Beauty, a text illustrated with plates,

in

containing his views on aesthetics and some violent criticisms which,


insults
It

and

caricatures.

The work

in return,

earn him

of the greatest importance to the development of art.

is

exhorts artists to return to the school of nature and, finding the prime cause of beauty

in the idea

of variety, formulates his famous definition of the "serpentine line", the

An

keystone of the whole of his theory.


live, light

style,

his

and

admirer of Rubens and Correggio, he advocates

colours and a clear-cut touch.

brilliant

emphasising his realism or the detail of his

imagination, and

Hogarth's importance
prejudice struggled

English school

is

in

art,

Much

showing certain weaknesses

lies in

all his life

the fact that he


to leave a

was an

new horizon

can be written about

the dramatic effects of his


in

his

composition.

his

work or
In

fact,

originator. This great destroyer of

for posterity in painting.

The young

indebted to him for written formulations on art form and for a number

of successful "genres" such as the suites of

or eight paintings showing the unfolding

six

of a drama with the power of moral improvement, his collective portraits and
conversation pieces. The type

is

exploited by a

swarm of

artists

who

his

leave a variegated

picture of their contemporaries.

Logically painters of moral subjects deriving from Hogarth are confined to this
descriptive attitude.

Among them

several pamphleteers are constrained to paint a far

from pleasant picture of a society wallowing


rality

and indifference

painting, caricature

to

and

in political struggles,

promiscuous immo-

mass poverty. Thus Thomas Rowlandson* takes up

illustration. Particularly

in

turn

concerned with poverty, he devotes to

immense production of series with such eloquent titles as Miseries of


and
The
Microcosm of London. He illustrates several literary works including
Life
The Vicar of Wakefield and The Sentimental Journey.
The political climate of the period lends itself to caricature, and the press, freed
from censorship for more than half a century, urges artists to follow their natural bent
for the satirical. Some devote themselves passionately to it. such as James Gillray*.

the lower classes an

Human

known

drawn more than 1,000 biting caricatures, and John Collet *. Dighton*.
Nixon*, Boyne*, and others. While pursuing its solitary way in this field. British
painting tackles wholeheartedly the most highly-valued theme of the century.
If we are to believe Hogarth, " England combines egoism with \anity; so portrait
painting in this country has always had and will always have a greater vogue than in any
to have

other".

And

in fact the portrait in

England

is

a style dating

back much farther than the

number of works, retains the grandiose traditions of


century. But the real forerunner is still Van Dyck. whose radiance has affected
of a whole century of portraitists. The English school is to succeed in e\olving a

18th century in which Kncller*, in a

the 17th
the style

new form

damage

What

his career

painter, in an era

by not taking

exponents of a type that


64

day that

it

soon eclipses

that matters

is

glamour, would

for the portrait, so compatible with the taste of the

other styles.

the magnified

in

it

where the only thing

up?

All the great painters of the English school were

other times was considered secondary; each painting

and finely-analysed

detail

all

of a vast picture of contemporary society.

is

like

By reason of

its

subjects,

portraiture blends well into the

its

revival

European

and the

18th century.

which ensures immediate recognition of

its

fact that

However,

it

it

fills

a need,

retains

national character.

EngHsh

an originality

Hogarth's advice,

recommending a return to nature, probably has been taken. After Kneller. m effect, wigs,
drapery and other formal trappings disappear; light and lively colours replace browns
and blacks; the natural triumphs. Childhood acquires considerable importance;
spontaneity,

its

its

freshness are characteristics sufficiently representative of the taste of the

period to provide the subject for several masterpieces.

Before the reign of George

which are to give


the

it

pompous mediocrity of several

the type has not yet acquired the seductive qualities

court painters

little

is

good

illustration

of

qualified to hold their posts, such

James Thornhill, whose main claim to fame seems to lie in the fact that he taught
Hogarth and was his father-in-law. Here again Hogarth figures as innovator.
Actually, Hogarth was not to continue for long in the field which he despised and
referred to as "manufacturing likenesses". But a series of portraits remarkable for their
intensity and sense of the natural show how much he contributed to this type. He excels

as Sir

66

III

an unprecedented vogue. The formal portrait

Allan

Ramsay

Fdinburgh l7I.VDovcr 1784


/'i)rirail 11/

Man

London. Tate Gallery

in the

the

use of light and shade in a

way

shadows the multiple explanatory

setting

them

which he

brilliantly inaugurates the sort

formal portrait far behind.


others, he

details

had been willing

likes to

and pushes back into

put with the subject. After

surroundings, he invests his subjects with far more than

in their daily

semblances and

that puts the subject in rehef

He

of psychological work that leaves the

could have had

a brilliant career as a portraitist

to flatter the vanity of a client, but he could never

because of this intransigent streak

in his

do

dull,

if,

like

so.

It is

nature that he paints such strikingly truthful

Lord Lovat, the celebrated Shrimp Girl, his self-portraits and


particularly the admirable composition in which he gathers his domestic staff together.
portraits as those of

With such

a precursor, British portraiture

Ramsay*

quintessence of English genius, from

of George

III.

The indispensable journey

to

is

set

on a very

Romney*,

to Italy

is

fertile track. In fact

concentrated

the

in the reign

soon takes Allan Ramsay to Rome,

where he has Imperiali for a master and Pompeo Batoni as co-follower, and to Naples

where he works under Solimena.

On

his return to

of rapid celebrity in high society. As

more than

sixty portraits, he brings the

William Hogarth
Portrait of Viscountess de la Valeltc

Oil

on canvas

(icncva.

official

2'6' x 2'!"

Museum

of Art and Histor\

London

painter to

the

young Scotsman

George

III,

of

whom

formal portrait up to date with a

is

assured

he painted

little

French

67

rakishness. Essentially a portraitist, he

is

of aristocratic style and elegant detail

which he
with

well suited to captivate a frivolous clientele

soon overloaded with orders, sometimes

the risky business of setting

He

verdant backgrounds of parks and gardens.

sets freely against the

spirit but,

helped by his psychological qualities. His sense

is

up workshops

in

in a

paints

hasty fashion. This leads to

which numerous

" pupils " collaborate in

the completion of works which, in losing their originality, lower the prestige of the artist.

However. Ramsay remains an excellent

shown by

portraitist, as

Lord Drummore and numerous women

But

subjects.

his studies of Dr.

he

if

is

enchanting

Mead.
in

his

refinement, he never attains the authoritative mastery of posture which Sir Joshua

Reynolds* brings

to painting.

Reynolds, with Hogarth and Gainsborough*, form the most representative

of the English school of the 18th century. The great opportunity


edly a cruise offered him in

1749 by Captain Keppel. of

in his life is

whom

trio

undoubt-

he painted some

admirable portraits. After Portugal. Gibraltar, and the Balearics, Reynolds discovers

Rome and

stays there

for

two

years.

From

his

return voyage through

Florence,

Arezzo and Parma he brings back the coloured memory of Veronese, of Titian

and particularly a

lasting admiration for Correggio.

through the middle of the contemporary French

London he goes from

to

Then, imperturbably, he passes

art

bloom. Soon after

success to success. His customary

charm and

his return

culture win

in addition to a fashionable clientele, the friendship of artists of all types. He


member of the same literary club as Goldsmith; his studio becomes a veritable
salon. To have been received and appreciated there is to become the key to success

him,
is

more than one young artist. The year


Academy in England and Reynolds is named

for

1768 sees the foundation of the Royal


its

On

president.

1784 the vacant post of Principal Painter to the King

is

the death of

handed

to

Ramsay

in

Reynolds as a

legitimate tribute to his work. This double official position proxides the occasion for

him

pronounce his famous fifteen Discourses, which constitute one of the most important
summations of English aesthetics. A necessary counterbalance to the over-disparaging
to

Hogarth. Reynolds

is

able to provide Georgian society with the exact picture, discreetly

tinged with complaisance, that they expect of him. Also

death, he exerted an artistic domination that


In

some 2.000

portraits

which constitute

freedom and an austereness

to the

his

far

it is

more

not surprising that, up to his

effective

than

it

was

pleasant.

work. Reynolds contributes a natural

High Baroque

tradition. His tireless variety, his sense

making an atmosphere decisive are to be appreciated.


Masculine portraits, like those of Colonel Tarleton or John Stuart, come out in their
daily surroundings, always with some judicious detail. Feminine portraits are presented,
according to the various parts the woman plays in society, in various aspects. The grace
of Lady Bamfylde. who appears before the splendour of a moving landscape, is achieved
without stressing distinction. The marvellous portrait of Nelly O'Brien has the subtle
harmony of luminous half-tints hidden in its simplicity. The dignity with which he is able
to invest all his models does not stop him from becoming tender at the so-often-repeated
sight of affectionate young mothers. For Reynolds adores children, of whom he leaves
of light and shade and his finesse

68

was

in

Sir

Joshua Reynolds

Plymplon 1723-London 1792


Portrait of Muster Hare.
on canvas 2'6' x 2'0'

Oil

Paris,

wssmmmm

"--n--

Louvre

788

70

Sir

Joshua Reynolds

Sir

Oil

Joshua Reynolds

Portrait

Self-portrait

on canvas

2'0' x

\'T

<>/

("hanlilly,

Louis- Philippe- Joseph (/'Orleans

Condc Museum

Lugano, Thyssen Collection

many

With

portraits.

his children

he puts a spontaneity into English painting. Reynolds

him

also has tried several incursions into genre painting which suits

such as

less well,

decorative painting borrowed from mythology or legend {Ugolino ami his Sons) or
religious painting. But his quality as a portraitist

make him

sufficient to

is

a master of

English painting.

The genius of Thomas Gainsborough

quite different.

is

More than

example of Rubens or the lessons of Gravelot* and Francis Hayman*,

the venerated

and

intuition

it is

which teach him the refinements which are to captivate England. Circumstances

feeling

combine

to provide

man

him with an existence

that hardly

conforms to

his character.

Here

is

work and
indulges his passion for music, when there arrives on the scene a military man named
Thicknesse who prides himself on being a patron of the arts. His authoritative manner
soon persuades the gentle Gainsborough to make his home in Bath, the centre of luxury,
debauchery and culture which the aristocracy makes its winter quarters. His triumph
peaceful

there

is

leading a provincial

as sudden as

it is

at Ipswich,

life

where he

on

carries

unanimous. He passes the fourteen most

fertile

anyone who matters in England at that


Honywood and Georgina Spencer, Duchess

his

years of his

life

from the

there, painting the portraits of

time,

Duke of

of Devonshire.

The

Argyll to General

finesse with

which he was able to

profit

from a frivolous

without ever stooping to the ever-present lure of


In 1774 he leaves Bath for

member
life

London where,

society,

artificiality, forces

as court painter, he paints the portrait of every

of the royal family before his death,

house

in his beautiful

heaped with honour and money which could never shake

Gainsborough seems
acquired

He

is

have gained

in

quickly lost from the

moment

try to reason, "

is

is

nothing of the erudite

in effect

suggests

demonstrated

for

him

to

very personal.

own

country.

admire and take some

It

is

all

he says. His rapid and

emotion.

light

"

more than he

am

later

more on feeling than on underMusidora. The charming detail (plumes,

says, acts

in the delicious

and

velvety materials), the quality of his air

touch makes

an apparent confusion that seems to point to

laces flow, evaporates muslins in

He

is

Mall, ends a

psychology and feeling what he never

England

lessons from, but the audacity of his style

standing, as

in Pall

his authenticity.

not well-read and never decides to venture out of his

There are enough works of Van Dyck

Impressionism.

in

Unlike his fellow-students, there

in culture.

about him.

to

which he despised,

admiration for him.

an atmosphere. From

his light, create

his

unrequited love of the landscape undoubtedly comes the affection he has for leafy

backgrounds which, as they do with Watteau, procure for him a harmonious balance
between landscape and person.

He

excels at painting

far-away look ofPerdita, the noble pride


celebrated Blue

women and

ofMrs Siddons and

Boy bring the most daring of English

children.

The sad and

particularly the grace of the

painters close to continental

painters.

Sophistication
cultivated

and

is

better suited to

brilliant portraitist

who

George Romncy. who

is

able to portray in a sufficiently flattering

illustrates the very type

of

whose image he is
way. Otherwise, Romney shows himself to be

an instant success

extremely scrupulous about the technical problems of his

in a society

art.

He

uses eight basic colours

71

Thomas Gainsborough
Sudbury 1724-London 1788
PcrJiia

London, Wallace Collection

by means of which he obtains

which made him famous

The

in his

precision of his drawing

portraitists of the reign of

warm and luminous

all his

day and which have


and

George

his sense
III.

The

reign of

to that caused in France

The appearance of

is

More than
show

always

taste

which

England

suffers

becomes modified;

it

becomes the rage

fundamental moral basis of continental neo-

disparaged by the growing immorality of English society after George


ever before, everything there

is

III.

luxury, pleasure, feasting, the desire to

off.

The
talent

in the guise,

by the Revolution and the Empire. However,

subjects

to dress subjects in ancient robes. But the

classicism

which she reappeared

or simply Emma.

George IV ensures the continuity of a

no rupture similar
slow.

in

Miranda, Circe, Hebe

evolution

is

to now without changing.


make him one of the best

up

of harmony

Nelson's mistress. Lady Hamilton, became his

beloved pretext for a long series of portraits


exquisite, of Cassandra.

tonality, those transparencies

lasted

portrait experiences an even greater vogue; there

who does

not amass a fortune and

manor-house and

numerous orders

live at a fast pace,

is

often

Frivolity also overtakes the painter.

staff.

to obscure pupils

who

not a portraitist of any

He

owning a

castle or

entrusts his too-

provide immature and flattering work

who make

in the

names without
always deserving such immortality. However, we should mention John Hoppner*. for
whom George III gains entrance to the Royal Academy and who later becomes official
painter to George IV. His work, sometimes a little conventional but still boldly drawn,
owes its importance to the picture it paints of that /r>; de siccle society, torn between the
thirst for pleasure, romanticism and the solicitations of a neo-classicism too soon arrived
from the Continent.
But the last great luminary of the century is an original and scrupulous Scotsman,
Henry Raebum. Noticed by Reynolds in London, he passes two years in Italy, then
returns to his native city, Edinburgh, where he distinguishes himself by his independent
will and his dedication to his work. Such an attitude often makes Lawrence preferred to
him, but his mastery of the portrait and his irreproachable drawing work for his
reputation. Given a title by George IV and with honours heaped on him, he never
deviated from his stubborn quest for perfection. His great personalities, full length on a
background of verdure, seem more natural. In this Raebum is an innovator, as in his
broad, clear touch, the very balanced construction and the general harmony of his
taste of the day.

compositions.

He

There are abundant

tangible evolution

is

shown by

in the

period tones

72

down

a greater simplicity

In another direction painting continues the


tion with Sir

illustrious

represents that trend which seeks to steep the portrait again in reality.

But the horror of plainness inherent

more

portraitists

Thomas Lawrence. This

way

his realist inclinations

and

which heralds the 19th century.


traced by the preceding genera-

enfant terrible of painting at the end of the century

lakes the plastic movement to the ultimate limits of elegance and futility. From his
immense production emerge some masterpieces such as the fine portrait of Sir John
Angerstein and his wife, or that of Master Lambton, better known under the title of Red
Boy. Despite the great vogue for the portrait throughout the century, no artist had yet

k/iB^:

^f

m
'

,'^

received the adulation given to Lawrence. After Hoppner, he becomes official painter to

King George IV and then,

his

fame having spread

far across the

Channel, he hastens to

from the Continent. He goes to paint portraits of Pius Vll. Metternich.


Wilhelm of Prussia and Tsar Alexander I. His successes go to his head. Burdened with
reply to requests

orders, he carries out a series of hastily-painted portraits. His art of covering

and precipitates the ruin of


propensities Lawrence
serves.
is

He

this genre.

With

becomes a part of the

has so well assimilated

all its

his off-hand

and amoral

artificial

faults that his

manner and

work,

little

up spreads
show-off

his

society which he

inspired as

it

might be,

the best possible reflection of that society.


If the portrait,

originality,

its

arrival

predominant type of the English school, shows evidence of strong


is

too late to have an influence on continental

hand, the primacy of the English

the

in

lasie.

On

the other

modern conception of landscape must be

recognised. Certainly, at the beginning of the century, the Venetians have contributed
pretty pastorals which have

had

a great success.

But there nature

is still

subjugated to

mythology or history. Only the urban landscape has been able to stand out as an
independent type. Around 1740 verdant nature makes

its

appearance as the principal

subject in English painting, well before the ideas of Richardson


circulated.

It is

as

if

the intensity of a favourable

and Rousseau are

movement has suddenly

crystallised

an

ancestral liking for the countryside. The landscape insinuates itself behind the portrait to
vie for space
in a

which

it

appropriates

little

by

little.

Then

the vogue for archaeology,

coming

period of prosperity, incites (ravel. Rich aristocrats take topographers with them to

make views whose austere precision calls for basic greenery to make them more pleasant.
Thus topography has its share of responsibility for the advent of the English landscape. It
has its little masters who all excel in the art of water-colouring, with which they bring up
their topographical drawings. From these it is only one step to the great florescence of the
74

English landscape.

George Romney

Thomas Gainsborough

Dalton-in-lurness 1734-

Sir

Portrait of l.t-Col Edmttnd Nufivnt

Kendal 1802

1756-1823

l.ady Hamilton ax Circe

l.l-Col Brycc

London. National Gallery

London. Tate Gallery

Oil

on canvas

7'9' x

51'

I.ugano, Thysscn Collection

Henry Raeburn

McMurdo

Sir

Thomas Lawrence

Bristol

1769-London 1830

John Julius Angerstein and

on canvas
Paris, Louvre

Oil

8'4"

Wife

his

5'2'

y-

Richard Wilson* crosses


genre noble enough to justify

this step

its

and

is

use in great

the
oil

first

to dare regard the landscape as a

compositions. Brought up

him

influence, he takes a long trip through Italy, allowing

Dutch

Tiepolo, Guardi and Canaletto.

he opens an academy.

It is

work

the best of his

is

He makes

the acquaintance of Reynolds in

a portrait, that of Admiral Smith, which brings

found among

beautiful luminosity which

is

his Italian

first

under

works of
Rome, where

to see the

him fame. But

and English landscapes bathed

dotted with the silhouettes of minuscule characters.

in

The

landscape moves towards complete autonomy, but the corners of ruins, the vestiges of
architecture are

minimum

still

there in

more or

less

modest form as

if

the artist wants to ensure a

of decency. This permanent contrast between the fragility of human endeavour

and the perennial triumphant nature bears witness to a new

Gainsborough goes further and,

will.

to an apathetic society

which expects from him

only seductive portraits, delivers landscapes in which nature, devoid of humans,


glorified for itself alone. Their spontaneity, their conjuring

up

in

is

almost anecdotal

manner of country life, make them very representative works of the 18th century and
would have been sufficient to make the master famous. Warm colours, browns and golds
settle at

canvas

vaguely on the surface, to determine at a distance the harmonious

level,

balances of shade and

light.

In the following generation,

John Crome*, without denying the influence of

Gainsborough, claims particularly that of Wilson. "Old Crome", from a poor family,
began as a sign painter before meeting
taught him the rudiments of his
strong. Original

and

active, he

art.

Sir

He

W.Beechey, a

likes his lonely

portraitist

founds the " Norwich School

which he directs himself. Crome's work, which Turner held


liberation of the landscape.

It

of the "gentry",

who

province where Dutch influence

in

",

is

then a local academy

high esteem, completes the

already belongs to the 19th century.

But on the borders of these well-characterised representations, other types have


it. The proverbial English
makes the English school a chosen
anatomy, a sense of precise detail and

used the landscape as a pretext and been linked directly with


love of animals, allied with the progress of zoology,

place for animal painting.

passion for

admiration for the landscape masters serve as links between several painters of animals,
horses, which are shown in vast backgrounds of greenery. The best
known, George Stubbs*, professes a vibrant admiration for Wilson. From his studies
there emerges a very fine work accompanied by engraved plates on The Anatomy of the
particularly

Horse.

He

turns the noble animal into the thoroughbred

landscapes and gives

Samuel

Scott,

who

rise to a

has

left

adornment of

delightful

host of animal and landscape painters of whom the best

particularly

worthy paintings of the London of

is

his day.

At this time neo-classicism has won the whole of the European schools over to its
cause. The English school, making great strides, stands up to the pretensions of the
Roman school. The "grand style" hardly rallies any but secondary artists, most often
from abroad. However, a special place must be reserved for an excellent painter whose
horror of sophisticated

life

condemned him

to an unobtrusive position.

From

a modest

77

family,

and

John Opie* had the good fortune

self-taught,

to please the all-powerful

Reynolds. But he preferred the then very uncertain career of historical painter to the
brilliant prospects

of portraitist.

He deals with

Arthur or The Murder of James

national subjects, such as The Poisoning of

of Scotland without ever achieving fame that was

remunerative.

On

new century two

the eve of the

the neo-classicists, Fuseli*

visionaries of genius assure the transition. Like

and William Blake* show

bewildered admiration for

Michelangelo and Raphael. More designers and poets than painters, they dip into
Shakespeare, Dante or Virgil for strange worlds peopled by gnomes, goblins and

monsters which incontestably link them with romanticism.

The Other Schools


In

most other countries

colossal genius

art

Rubens,

is

dormant. Often, as

of foreign

Russia, in Scandinavia,

full

But everywhere there

an immense demand for

in

is

in

Rembrandt, Velasquez
artists,

memory of a

Spain or Holland, the

paralyses ambition. Elsewhere, in

national schools hardly begin to be formed.


art.

Even the countries

that are poorest

indigenous art have princely or aristocratic art patrons. Also a study of these countries

will

show an important place

for expatriates, particularly Italian

largely responsible for the orientation of the different

and French, who are

European schools.

Switzerland, however, has a quite original artistic position by reason of


political,

religious

and

linguistic characteristics.

An

independence too young to be

anything but fragile and a political regime in advance of


the

European movements

for a long time.

its

its

time leave

it

on the edge of

long Calvinist history, aided by sumptuary

ordinances, has paralysed artistic inclinations of all kinds. But in becoming rich the Swiss

ordinance which forbids "all busts or statues

citizen tends to ignore the law. In 1739 the

intended to adorn the exteriors or interiors of houses" seems quite an anachronism.


Protestant migrants bring into their exile a

little

French

begins to regard this model republic, which offers


Voltaire, with curiosity

spring up.

It

and sympathy. Then

in

levity.

its

The European avant-garde

hospitality to the redoubtable

Geneva, Basle and Berne

only remains to decorate them. The Rococo, the court

style,

rich

houses

ventures only

and colour of the century takes refuge


was
born offers its mountam sites to the
Then the country where Rousseau
new-born tourism and to a new type of painting, the alpine landscape. Geographical and
very cautiously into this

field.

At

first all

the grace

in the portrait.

linguistic

peculiarities of the country give this

depending on whether

it

has started

in the

growing

art

a different

in the German part, where it is more


Mengs and Winckelmann.
The talent of a pastcllist. Jcan-Etienne Liotard*. in particular

78

brilliant rcprcscntati\c

to the category of travelling artists

is

open

to

prone to the teachings of

French influence, or

Geneva. This most

complexion

French-speaking cantons, and thus

illustrates the art

of

of the French-speaking Swiss school belonged

whom

no voyage deterred. At

first

he

is

in Paris,

Richard Wilson
1714-82

The Thames

at

Twickenham

London, Tate Gallery

where he has the patronage of a future Duke de Lauzun. There he meets Montesquieu.
Voltaire and the Marquis de Puisieux, French
Italy. In

Rome portraits of James

Ambassador

to Naples,

Stuart and several cardinals win

him

Bessborough takes him to Constantinople and he stays there for

who

five

Armenian, Jew or Greek,

in a

manner deeply

colour, and the seething diversity of the place.

He

sensitive to their

returns through

him to
Lord

years under the

patronage of Mchemet Aga. Apart from local princes, he paints delightfully


inhabitants,

takes

recognition.

all

the city's

warmth and

Hungary and Vienna,

where he captivates the court of Maria Theresa, and Venice, where Algarotti buys
Belle Choeolatiere.

Hardly stopping

at

Geneva, he hurries to Paris where,

at the

his

Opera,

in

and the cafes he wears a huge beard, a fitting accoutrement to help maintain
his reputation as the "Turkish painter". Crebillon, Marivaux and Mademoiselle de
Montauban pose for him. Maurice de Saxe introduces him to the court, where he paints

the salons

the royal princesses. His paintings fetch unheard-of prices. Embittered by a setback at
the Academic, Liotard takes himself off to

Walpole and

British high society.

Up

England to seek the compliments of Horace

to the age of

more than

seventy-five, his craze for

79

George Stubbs
Liverpool 1724-London 1806
Marcs and Foals in a iMnJscape
London. Talc Gallery

him again and again through Paris, London, Vienna and Geneva, where he
finally dies. During this period he is working on a Treatise of Principles and Rules for
Painting. Now he paints fruit, powdery and coloured, as if to follow Chardin's footsteps
in reverse. A curious person, this Liotard! Walpole calls him "greedy beyond all
imagination " and reproaches him for " too much finish and retouching " in his art. Like
the period in which he lives, he is at the same time serious and playful, ambitious for
success but human, and rakish but paternal. Among his immense production are some
very beautiful pieces, such as the celebrated portrait of Madame d'Epinay, and a number
of miniatures on enamel. Liotard is neither a La Tour nor a Chardin. Too careful of
travel takes

detail to reach the virtuosity

work,

like his life, is

The more modest

art

80

Voltaire and

latter.

His

and in colour.
of Jean Huber*, nephew of the celebrated .Abbe Huber. may

be ascribed to "society talent


writing, painting or

of the former, he lacks the tenderness of the

an adventure

".

in the exotic

The rakishness and wealth of the century permeate the


liveliest gentleman of the moment. In the entourage of

drawing of the

Madame

d'Epinay

it

nurtures the pastimes in vogue in Paris society, where

Anton Graff
Winterthur 1736-Drcsdcn 1813
Por trail of ChamhelUm von Beusl, 1780
Oil on canvas 2'6' x 20"
Wintcrlhur, Reinhart Collection

Jean-Eticnnc Liotard

Geneva 1702-89
Portrait of the Artist as an

Geneva.

Museum

Old

Man

of Art and History

"shadow

the fashion of

portraits" has

made

name

M.de

for

Silhouette.

Huber

invents

of the cut-out and spends his time making caricatures of his friend the

the art

philosopher. Hence the delectable series, Voltaire automedon, Voltaire falling, at the Knees
in the costume of his roles, with his peasants.
The pastime
Huber excuses himself with the quip, " Doesn't Voltaire play comedy
with tragedy?" The author of the Treatise on Tolerance savours the joke

of the Clairon, Voltaire

becomes

in castles built
less

and

less.

certain Petit Lever, embellished with a very irreverent text by an

unscrupulous engraver, brings the crowning

man who

asserts the

Grimm

profitable.

from then on

is

to spread the cut-out throughout

proportionate to the subject and

its

for

its

both the aristocracy and the middle

is

The eagerness of

more towards

Berlin or

appointed court painter

He becomes

class,

incurable,"

is

frivolity.

part, turns

than Paris. Installed in Zurich, Anton Graff*


1765 after his fame has spread there.

Voltairism

Europe assures the author of a notoriety

surrounding

German-speaking Switzerland,

"My

irritation.

called only " Huber-Voltaire".

the

in

most sought-after

Rome

Dresden

in

portraitist of

whose powers by now are about

equal.

From

then on he divides his time painting aristocratic sophistication or middle-class industri-

ousness

Dresden, Leipzig and Winterthur,

in

lectuals such as the Schillers*,

The

tirelessly painting all the leading intel-

Wieland, Lessing and Schulzer,

subtle elegance of Stanislaus Potocki or

his future father-in-law.

Urbanowski stems

also has Angelica


in

Rome

or

Kauffmann, a pleasant

London than

portraitist, but she

more

Ludwig Aberli*, published


charm which secures him renown and a comfortable

personality in Berne art circles

broaden
sphere

his following.

still

essentially

From

is

Switzerland

often uses her talents

as engravings,
living.

have a

But the strongest

without doubt Sigismund Freudenberger*. His friendly

members of

relations with several

itself.

her native country.

in

Rustic scenes by Johann

picturesque

from the simple,

solely

almost nonchalant attitude. Trappings vanish, and the face speaks for

the French school

Boucher,

Aved and Greuze

His rare ability to integrate the new naturalism with an atmo-

gay smoothly and firmly

the Rhineland to Poland,

sets the seal

from the

on the alpine landscape.

Baltic to the frontiers of a Venice

some 350 German principalities form a


of Europe. The genius of Handel, Bach. Haydn,

incessantly threatened by Austrian pretensions,


sort of giant crossroads in the heart

Mozart and Gliick spreads the fame of German music throughout Europe.

On

the scrolls

of literary fame are the names of Kant, Wieland, Lessing, Schiller and Goethe. Schluter,

Neumann and Zimmermann

bring an international standing to

German

such a context painting, which has no Diirer nor Cranach, seems to

Germany
invade German

more than she

fall

architecture. In

back on foreign

talents. In fact

begins by receiving

influences

territory before neo-classicist feeling, instigated

Winckelmann. shakes
the greater part of

The most

off this foreign yoke.

German

talent

is

and French

by Mengs and

Apart from the universal form, the

portrait,

devoted to decorative painting.

comes from
southern Germany and Austria and goes as far
fruitful influence

gives. Italian

Italy. It

as

floods the Catholic territories of

Bohemia and even Saxony. Proximity,

83

community of
which

is

religion

and the prestige of Tiepolo partly explain

helped by the mobility of the

artists

this

from the peninsula. The

phenomenon,

Germany

visits to

by Sebastiano Ricci. Amigoni, Pellegrini and Canaletto. among others, assume great
importance.

Longer stays

Dresden and Warsaw by

in

Bacciarelli " at the Polish court,

and

Bellotto,

by the

"

Divine

Wurzburg, play a

particularly by the Tiepolos at

Baroque cities as Prague, Munich and Vienna, Tiepolism


a time when, alone among European countries, southern Germany

decisive role. In such wildly


finds a choice field at

goes through a revival of religious fervour. The Benedictines and the Premonslrants
build monasteries and pilgrimage churches in which
possibilities for hitherto

places

its

theatre,

Rococo ornamentation shows

undreamed-of audacity. Following Tiepolo sacred painting

and twirls in the centre of a delirious interlacing of stuccos and gold. The
from which it originates, comes to the rescue of religious sentiment. The
scrolls

Germans have

excelled in this

gaudy conception of

religious

churches the framework for Biblical scenes on a spectacular

themes which makes


scale. Edifices

their

remarkable

grow out of the collaboration of the Asam brothers*, of whom


Cosmas Damian is the painter and Egid Quirin the architect-decorator. One example of
their work is the Church of Saint-John Nepomuk in Munich, where they have established
themselves. The fame of Cosmas Damian, court painter to the Prince-Bishop of Freising,
wins him numerous commissions in the Tyrol, Bohemia and Switzerland. The knowledge
for their uniformity

of illusionism, before the arrival of Tiepolo, brings to Germany vast perspectives which
disappear into the centre of tumultuous ceilings. In Munich he finds an emulator and
collaborator in Matthaus Gunther*,
indefatigable decorator of Tyrolian

who

is

dominate the German school. This

to

and Bavarian churches, of those

wald and Rott-am-Inn, accentuates even more the

in Neustif,

illusionist effect

Mitten-

of his cupolas

in

gradually lessening the colours in his dizzy heights.

With

J.

W. Baumgartner*

in

Augsburg,

J.

Zimmermann*, brother and collaborator of the


heavens come into view throughout the century.
Catholic religion to tolerate this showy style!

Swabian

painter, F. A. Maulbertsch,

this type. Established in

is

M. Frantz* in Eichstaal and J. B.


architect, more or less irreligious
It

needs

to give

Vienna, where he carried out his

the Austrian provinces of Moravia,

all

the suppleness of the

most perfect expression to


studies, Maulbertsch works in
its

Bohemia and Hungary. About 1750 he begins

decorating religious or princely buildings with great asymmetrical compositions in which

sumptuous contrast with neighbouring light tones. The


art of capturing a face in a stream of colour constitutes one of the aspects of his
virtuosity, which also permits of bold foreshortening and stridently shredded flights into
flowing browns and reds are

tints

The sensitiveness of his line


Vienna. The quality of his Assumptions

of saffron and

some time

in

in

lilac.

recalls

likens

Sebastiano Ricci.

him

to Piazzetta

who

spent

and Tiepolo

although he seems never to have been acquainted with them. In a score of years

Maulbertsch pours the most Baroque part of


Jesuits

84

and others, then

at the

his genius into vast frescoes painted for

Vienna City Hall. Ebenfurth Castle,

Church and the Carthusian monastery

at

in the

Heiligcnkreuz

Brno. Often constructed on a diagonal,

his

Antoine Pcsne
Paris 1683-Bcrlin 1757
Portrait of Frederick
c.

II,

King of Prussia

1739-40

Oil

on canvas

Paris,

2'7' x 2'0"

Furstenburg Collection

'^^^^^H

y
H'

i
.J^^k

1
R

^^H

strongly contrasting compositions integrate light and shade with the splendour of

Tiepolo. After 1770, no doubt under the influence of neo-classicism, Maulbertsch's

tends to

become more down

But

and the Archbishop of Salzburg bans

to the pure veneration of God

As

to earth

this is also a general

simplicity"

and loses some of its enormity.


phenomenon. An edict in 1770 advises

for

".

French influence,

all

"theatrical representation contrary

The spectacle is finished.

Austerity triumphs again.


it is

a return to " noble

soon brought to the Rhineland and into Prussia by

Protestant emigrants and gradually infiltrates as far as Poland. In the whole of

not a Prince

is

to be

work

found now who

is

more

"

Francophile" than Frederick

Germany

of Prussia,

II

whose agents in Paris Count Rothenburg, Voltaire and D'Argens choose for him the
best works of Watteau and his school for the castles of Sans Souci and Charlottcnburg.
Antoine Pesne*, nephew and pupil of Charles de Lafosse, arrives in Berlin at the
beginning of the century. During his long career in the service of the first three kings of
Prussia he inculcates into Berlin portraitists his sense of the noble attitude and
shimmering of rare tints. Frederick II, of whom he has left a very full iconography,
entrusts him with the work of decorating his residences. After him, Amedec Van Loo is
to remain for twenty years at the Prussian court. The court of Saxony, for its part,
successively has Louis de Sylvestre*, who decorates the Zwinger. and Charles Hutin*.
But local talents are discovered and then the Tischbein dynasty record the greatest
successes. Some of them are particularly influenced by the French. Johann Heinrich, a
pupil of Carle Van Loo and Boucher, paints portraits with tinges of precosity and
naturalness at the court of Hesse-Cassel. The most German of the Tischbcins. Johann
Heinrich Wilhelm, a protege of the
sophisticated portrait painter but

it

Duke of Gotha,

has had an eventful career as

has not satisfied his ambition. His stays

where he studied Raphael and the ancients, affirm

his desire for the

"grand

in

Rome,

style". His

fundamental work, Conrad of Swabia playing Chess with Frederick of Austria after

Condemnation
86

his

Roman

to

Death, arouses the enthusiasm of David,

competitors.

Francisco Jose dc

Goya

It

makes concrete

y Lucicnlcs

Fuentodos (Saragosa) 1746-Bordcaux 1828

who

cites

it

as an

the return to classicism which two

Dimitn Ciregoriovich Lcviizky


Kiev 1735-St Petersburg 1822

Boys Climhin^ a Tree. 1791-2

Portrait of Diderot

Cartoon for a Tapestry


Madrid. Prado

Oil

on canvas

(Icncva.

I'll"

Museum

><

'7'

of Art and Historv

their

example to

Germans,

Anton Rafael Mengs


Aussig 1728-Rome 1779

The Marquise de Llano


Oil

on canvas

6'8" x 5

Madrid. San Fernando Academy

Alexander Roslin

Malmoc 1718-Pans

1793

riw Dauphin, Son of Louis

London, National Gallery

XV

Mengs and Winckelmann,


Carstens* handles
In
art.

Warsaw

it

in

arc to go off

and preach

to the limit in other countries:

such a way as to arrive at total abolition of colour.

the patronage of the Potockis, Radziwill

and Czartoryski encourages

Stanislaus-August sends Alexander Kucharski* to Paris to

hope of making him an


atmosphere of

historical

Van Loo and Vien

in the

But the former page, seduced by the

painter.

Paris, insinuates himself into Paris society. His sophisticated art has only
historical, the portrait of

one trace of the

Although

to all

appearances

Marie-Antoinette

less central

at the

Temple.

than Germany, Scandinavia

is

the natural

the

Sweden of

staging point for those going from France to Russia.

The Denmark of Christian VI, Frederick V and Christian VII and


Charles XII, Louisa-Ulrica and Gustav
Ages, are

III, artistically

barely emerged from the Middle

dependent on foreign influences. Gradually France supplants Holland

still

there. Painting academies, supplied with

French teaching, send

their best pupils to

perfect art in Paris.

Sweden
Swedish

is still

Up

sea.

Queen

a navigator.

into fine arts.

surrounded by the aura of a hegemony which made the Baltic a

to the middle of the 17th century there everyone

Christina, gathering together the

first

either a warrior or

considerable flourishing of artistic talent appears suddenly but

more French than other European movements. Count


about 1740, goes about persuading French

Oudry

was

collection, initiates her country

Tessin,

artists to leave for

ambassador

it is

Stockholm: Pater and

makes Sweden his second home and


podgy Cupids of the Boucher school.

decline but a pupil of Lemoine, Taraval,

there the blue

As

and pink mythologies and the

for local artists they borrow, according to age,

The Hamburg

even

to Paris

plants

from the successive waves of

D.von Krafft, learns the secret of the formal


portrait from Rigaud and Largilliere. After becoming official portraitist to the Swedish
court, he paints such a unique likeness that Charles XII consents to let him paint his
French

art.

portrait painter,

august person. His pupil, Gustav Lundberg, has previously gone through an identical

The Stockholm Academy is to make such courses mandatory for his


Numerous pastel portraits of Louis XV, Maria Leczinska, Natoire and
Boucher make him the favourite portraitist of high society in his own country.
Swedish painters show a marked predilection for the Rococo. The most notorious
training in Paris.
successors.

of these are so French-looking that Paris often claims them for her own. Princely

patronage has already opened the doors of the French court to Alexandre Roslin*. His

charm, wealth and

ability to paint materials raise his prestige

He becomes a member of the Academic,


most sophisticated life. He takes advantage of a trip

aristocracy.

Stockholm where he paints

several portraits of

even higher with the

marries a French

artist

and leads

to St Petersburg in 1774 to stop in

Gustav

III

and the royal family.

His contemporary Nicolas Lafrensen*, miniature painter at the Swedish court,


gallicises his

name

to Lavreince

and comes

to Paris to

work under

Baudouin. After the manner of his master he paints a string of


insipidly licentious,

return to his

own

which bring him easy success

country.

until the

little

the direction of

gouaches, somewhat

Revolution forces him to


89

The modest
a true pointer to

and

Peter the Great

working

its

appealing to foreign

But

it is

Among

artists.

and Oudry. back

like Nattier

man

mounts

the throne, icon painting

have been handed

skills

down from

Middle Ages. The builder of

since the distant

is

not

importance. The Petrovian era in effect sees a veritable revolution

its

When

in plasticity.

practised

place which Russian painting occupies in the 18th century

of good

will

out.

is

the only type

generation to generation

St Petersburg shatters

tradition

by

the French artists approached, the most illustrious,

The fete galante

enters Russia with Jean Pillement*.

from Marseilles, Louis Caravaque*, who over a period of

forty years initiates the Russians into secular painting while keeping for himself a sort of

monopoly

as imperial artist.

draws

In the middle of the century Elisabeth, daughter of Peter the Great,

on Western

tastes.

She

is

debauchery, but St Petersburg


Rastrelli decks

it

out with

new

freely

confused between elegance and flashiness or pleasure and

little

is

indebted to her for

buildings. Catherine

II.

its

Rococo when

the architect

contemporary of neo-classicism

and an admirer of Diderot, hardly appreciates this profusion of colours and ornaments.
Under the successive reigns of the two Empresses the new city acquires enough prestige
to interest Western masters in travelling there. For a long time to come they furnish all
the painting for the court. Italy sends Pietro Rotari,

modes

et des

graces with

some 300 feminine

Apart from Stefano

1758.

mostly French

artists

who adorns

portraits.

Torelli, decorator

the Peterhof O/A/m'/ des

Fine Arts

Academy

is

founded

in

of the Chinese Palace of Oranienbaum,

of the second half of the century such as Lagrenee*. Doyen and

Lorrain provide the instruction for the young Russian school. The school also draws

on Vien than on Watteau. Tocque, who came to paint a portrait of Elisabeth,


exerts a deep influence on young local portraitists. Roslin teaches them the secret of
painting velvety or silky materials. Others like J.-B. Le Prince* come without being

more

freely

asked, attracted by this

new exotism

J.-B.

that

is

new

country. Le Prince finds

to find a

Lampi*, from the Tyrol,

warm welcome
fights for

showy elegance of
Catherine and her entourage.

in

the peasants the material for

prime position against the English influence with

his court art.

the slightly

among

France. Right at the end of the century

He

paints several official portraits of

By dint of effort, a national school is born in the time of Catherine II. But.
obsessed with admiration for the West, the " Empress of All the Russias " does not grasp
the importance of this event. Paris

Anton Pavlovich Losenko*.


his portraits

decent

living.

The French

would pay ransom


poverty

The
yo

common

Rome

have shaped the

After fruitless incursions into the "

first

Russian painter,

grand style", he shows

in

of poets and actors qualities which would ha\c been enough to ensure him a
sculptor Falconet takes ad\antage of an audience granted him

by the Empress to intervene

in

and

at the

in his favour.

prices for the

But

in \ain.

The munificent Catherine, who

most prestigious European

collections, lets

Losenko die

age of thirty-six.

portrait provides the greater part of Russian painting of the time.

people, most of the painters have nc\er

left

their

own

country.

Born of the

They have

TrooM
Amsterdam 1697-1750

Cornells

Family

in

an Interior

Oil on canvas 3'!" x 2'8"

Amsterdam. Rijksmuseum

worked

whom

on

at St Petersburg with foreign artists

more or

they are

less

dependent.

After Antropov*, pupil of Caravaque. and Rokotov*, talented enough to collaborate

with Rotari

in

decorating the Cabinet des modes

own

boast her

et des graces,

portrait master in the j)erson of Dimitri

sionable, this pupil of

Antonov and Lagrenee

Russia finally can proudly

G. Levitski*. Very impres-

assimilates the qualities of

Tocque and

Roslin, but also the faults of Lampi. His appointment as court painter in 1780 puts the
seal

of Imperial recognition on indigenous

art. It results in

glorifying Catherine. But Levitski appears

That of Diderot, now

portrait.

paintings showing inmates of the

embraced the

is

at ease with the less

an eloquent example.

Smolny convent confirms

that

formal type of
series

of seven

Russian art has

taste of the West.

an era when

In

more

Geneva,

in

a series of official allegories

Belgium remains fixed

all

European

living

in its

art takes

some sustenance from Rubens,

admiration for him. The 17th century lingers on

in

the

portrait, the intimate scene or the religious painting.


P.

J.

Verhagen,

who

is

barely twenty years old in 1750, gets his taste for great

rhythmical and coloured compositions from Rubens. The boldness of his drawing, the
tonalities
Italy.

He

of ochre, blue and pink, sometimes


also goes to France

Maria Theresa. Verhagen

recall Tiepolo.

whose works he has seen

and Austria, where he becomes painter

sees the sacred through theatrical

and

in

to the court of

lively eyes, well in

tune

with the century. His Feasts of Herod or Balthazar are fairy-storyish and emphasise the

him and his brother Jean-Joseph Verhagen*, whose predilection for


kitchen interiors earns him the nickname of " Potteken". It is also this sort of realism,
intimate or rustic, that characterised and united the numerous small Antwerp masters.
P. Snyers*, Verbruggen*, Bosschaert* and C. Bigee* pile up fruits and flowers in a style
also practised in Holland and Spain and inspired by the same decorative realism.
However, the style of the eclectic B. Beschey* lasts into the Empire period. At the end of
the century Leonard Defrance of Liege, a friend of Fragonard, devotes himself

distance between

enthusiastically to great revolutionary themes such as Abolition of Slavery or Suppression

of Monastic Orders.
During the same period Amsterdam and The Hague publish
country

is

painting

is

to the doctrine of neo-classicism,

weighs

political

writmgs that

however, no
more conservative than Holland. Since the disappearance of Rembrandt
immobilised in his tradition. As impervious to the grace of the Rococo as it is

by their revolutionary nature are suppressed

down

else they are

it

in

France. In the

field

of

art.

which

sticks obstinately to that over-subtle heaviness

the assemblies of Regents or learned professors of

J.

M. Quinckhardt*. Or

the scrupulously perpetuated everyday gestures of families that

uniform and ageless. The

still-life

becomes a painting of

fruit

and flowers which

seem

finds a

Van Huysum*. His passion for perfection in optical illusion assures him of a
renown that stems more from his technical prowess than his undeniable qualities as a
painter. The sole attempt at Rococo in Holland comes from J. de Witt*. But his friezes

virtuoso in

of chubby Cupids painted

92

school.

in

trompe-raril are only pallid reflections of the Boucher

Jean-Elienne Liotard
Portrait oj

Madame

1759
Pastel 2'3"x

d'

Epinay

c.

Geneva,

I'Q'

Museum

of Art and History

Francisco dc

Goya

Blind-man's Buff

Cartoon for Tapestry


Oil on canvas 8' 10' ^ \\b'
Madrid, Prado

The work of a humorous chronicler, CorneUs Troost*. has the greatest place in
Dutch painting of the century. More than his portraits of bevvigged local officials, it is his
zest for burlesque which makes him the most sought-after member of the 18th-century
Dutch school. The passion for the theatre at the time explains the success of his comic
scenes which pass directly from farce into his paintings, complete with accessories and

costumes. His technique

makes him

itself,

original. This flash of

in

which he mixes

imagmation

is

pastel, water-colour

and gouache,

extinguished in 1750, leaving Holland in a

state of torpor.

tragedy in the heart of the century

in

Portugal, the Lisbon earthquake of 1755.

numerous works from past centuries and justifies the precedence given to
architecture and decoration in the reign of Joseph I.
His predecessor. John V. had made a particular appeal to Italians. Dupra*.
V. Baccarclli* and Trcxisani c\en had a small local lineage in A. Lobo. J. de SiKa* and
others. France had sent an imitatcM- of Watlcau, A. Quillard*. who. after becoming court
engulfs

94

painter, carries out several aristocratic portraits before his untimely death in 1733. In the

second part of the century the delicate Jean Pillement, master of Vieira Portuense*,
proves to be more influential.

When
John

the death of Quillard leaves the post of Painter to the

Having gone

young

Chamber

vacant,

chooses Francesco Vieira de Matos*, better known as Lusitano, to succeed him.


to

Rome

in the

entourage of the Portuguese Ambassador

age, Lusitano returns to Lisbon seven years later

the convent of the "Paulistas",

made him

adventures that have

work here seems


But

in

and

where he has taken refuge

a sort of legendary hero.

at a very

exercises his talents at

after a series of

first in

amorous

great part of his decorative

to have vanished in the earthquake.

fact

is

it

a pupil of Pillement, Francesco Vieira Portuense,

who

best

Almost all of his too-short life is spent in travel. Different plastic


work, in which the influence of English portraitists comes up against

illustrates this period.

streams flow in his


traces of Correggio

and even some inclinations towards the

of Portuense closes out the century

The

art situation

analogous

is

neo-classic.

The

brief lustre

in Portugal.

in

adjoining Spain. Bringing the Bourbons to

power, the accession of Philip V, grandson of Louis XIV, opens up the country to

The King has the Granja built for himself and in it tries to recreate the
atmosphere of Versailles. The glory of Spain after the Treaty of Utrecht deeply feels the
need for a new " Golden Century ". Thus court art is to be French and decorative
painting Italian until local talent is discovered. In fact, despite some glimmerings of
foreign influence.

hope, Spain seems to lapse into memories of Velasquez and the expectation of Goya.

At the beginning of the century Michel-Ange Houasse* and Jean Ranc* bring the
grace of French pastorals and the slightly starchy elegance of princely portraits to a point
that wins

them

the coveted

title

In 1737 Louis-Michel

of " Pintor de

Van Loo

whole of whose family has been painted


formal trappings, keeps him

Camara ".
Ranc as court portraitist.
by Van Loo in a vast collective

succeeds

Philip V, the
portrait with

and entrusts him with the task


of establishing the San Fernando Academy, of which Van Loo is to become director on
its

inauguration

in

in his service for fifteen years

1751.

The decoration of churches and

palaces, however,

is

handed over

to the Italians,

A. Procaccini* and D. M. Sani*, whose talents prove to be somewhat

dull.

In this

more fortunate than that of his father.


G.Amigoni and C.Giaquinto follow at his court. The latter particularly paints frescoes
with admirable fluidity and movement in the salons and the grand staircase of the royal
connection the choice of Ferdinand VI

is

palace. In 1761, however, Giaquinto prefers to step

down

in

the face of the neo-classic

movement.
Less prudent, Tiepolo arrives in Spain
able

A.R.Mengs has become

undisputed
Charles
still

III

leaders

of tendencies so

no doubt has

agreeing to leave his

in 1762, several

months

after the redoubt-

established there. In bringing together in his court the

incompatible as

satisfied his vanity.

own country

But

to paint

it is

Rococo and

two

neo-classicism,

painful to think of the old Tiepolo

an apology for the Spanish monarchy

95

which has placed him

unhappy position of being present

in the

much

a rival style preached by an opponent

Mengs

less great

exerts an almost dictatorial influence

triumph of

to witness the

than himself.

on the new generation

in Spain.

He

enjoys such renown that the Spanish court, from 1761 to 1776, becomes the rendezvous
for the European art world. Mengs takes advantage of this to charge exorbitant prices
and lead the life of a prince. As technically perfect as they might be, his frescoes painted
for the royal palaces are far too lacking in feeling. In his portraits, on the other hand,
this perfection does not exclude gracefulness and his portrait of the Marquise de Llano
is

very characteristic of the century.

His most faithful follower, M.


element of the Spanish school,

is

Maella*,

S.

represents the most academic

highly regarded at the court, where he

honour equal

principal painter in 1799, an

who

to that

is

made

to be

bestowed on Goya. Mengs also takes

under his wing the young Francisco Bayeu* y Subias, future brother-in-law of Goya,
this patronage becomes " Pintor de Camara ", then director of the San

who under

Fernando Academy. An indefatigable decorator of royal palaces and religious buildings


portraits and cartoons for the insatiable Santa Barbara
tapestry works where the young Goya makes his debut.
Bayeu also paints a number of

Of

the three Gonzalez-Velasquez* brothers, Antonio particularly has achieved

great renown.

He

Paret* y Alcazar.

has been the master of the "Spanish Watteau", the likeable Luis

Not

suited for great flights into decorative painting, Paret

makes

himself a chronicler of the royal carnivals and equestrian entertainments dear to the
heart of Charles

There

III.

whom

La Traverse,

perhaps a

is

he met

in

little

Madrid,

ceremonial of the King's luncheon and

He

is

of the French

in his

flowers. But

it is

Luis Melendez*

(still-lifes).

These

who

still-lifes,

and C. -F.de

B.Ollivier

which

is

apparent

in

the

small figures with their glowing red garb.

also responsible for a series of " Ports of Spain "

bodegones

artists

in that breeziness

provides the best

and several pretty paintings of


example of naturalism with his

as exceptional in Spain as those of Chardin in

France, resemble those of the Dutch and

mark him

as belonging to the I8th century in

Spain.
In reality Spanish painting, firmly under foreign influence
crossfire of

Lucientes

is

born

in

at

is

rejected in the

light.

From
It

is

Goya
in

in a

a period of

shows him

is

its

which a

costumes

fit

optimism which

the patronage of Jovcllanos. later to

come

fanciful turn balances out dignity of attitude,

which the lack of self-consciousness and spontaneity of

in their striking

96

Under

life,

gains admission to the entourage of the grandees; then

cratic portraits in

anecdotes

prevails. Italy

1776 to 1791 he paints forty-three cartoons for the Santa Barbara

the ascensional period of his

gradually brings him success.


Minister,

the

San Fernando Academy competition and

Parma, where the despotism of Mengs also

tapestry works.

in

art forms, awaits the

academic surroundings, he

no luckier
colour and

and caught

redemption of a genius. Francisco Goya y


the middle of the century, in Aragon. Too original to fit in with

two opposing

in

still

bound up with

and popular

his little characters

so well with living Spain. For original as they

Spanish context, these works are

become

his aristo-

the ISth century.

may appear

Evidence and Documents

Decline of Relig^ion in the 18 th Century


were not a sad and dull psychology;

If our religion
this

abominable Christianity had not been

if

our

priests

were not stupid bigots;

up on murder and blood;

built

if

if

the joys of

beatific vision of goodness knows what,


beyond comprehension or understanding; if our Hell offered anything else but gulfs of
fire, hideous Gothic demons, howling and gnashing of teeth; if our paintings could be

our Paradise were not reduced to an irrelevant

man

anything else but scenes of atrocity, a

man

a disgusting slaughter;

grilled,

nose;

if

if all

man

scorched, a

hanged, a

man

roasted, a

our saints were not veiled up to the

tip

of the

our ideas of decency and modesty had not proscribed the sight of arms, thighs,

had not withered up these


arms and torn these shoulders; if our
were not shackled and our poets hedged in by the frightening words of sacrilege

breasts, shoulders, of all nudity; if the feeling of mortification

breasts, softened these thighs, emaciated these


artists

Mary had been a mother through pleasure or indeed. Mother


had been her beautiful eyes, her beautiful breasts or her lovely thighs which
had attracted the Holy Spirit to her and if that had been written into her story; if the
Angel Gabriel were vaunted to her by his fine shoulders; if Mary Magdalen had had
some amorous adventure with Christ; if at the wedding at Cana Christ, tipsy and slightly
nonconformist, had eyed the bosom of one of the bridesmaids and the buttocks of
St John, not certain whether he would remain faithful or not to the Apostle with the chin
shaded by a light down: then you would see what our painters, poets and sculptors might
have become; in what tone we would have spoken of those charms, which would have
played so great and marvellous a role in the history of our religion and our God; and the
manner in which we would have regarded the beauty to which we owe the birth, the
incarnation of the Saviour, and the blessing of our Redemption.
and profanity;
of God,

if

the Virgin

if it

Diderot
Essays on Painting

Diderot and the Salons

On Chardin
You come

time, Chardin, to refresh

in

magician, with your mute compositions!

him about

tell

air flows

about these objects! The


it

lights

eyes.

There you are again, then, great

eloquently they speak to the artist! All

the imitation of nature, science of colour

that they

any more than

my

How

light

them up. Here

and harmony!

How the

of the sun does not conceal the disparity of things

is

one who

is little

acquainted with friendly colours

or hostile colours!
If

98

it is

true, as the philosophers say, that

nothing

is

real but

neither the emptiness of space nor even the solidity of bodies

our sensations; that

may have nothing

in itself

we

of what

feel;

then

them

let

tell

me, these philosophers, what difference they

find,

looking at your paintings, between the Creator and you. (Salon of 1765.)

This

man

is

the premier colourist of the Salon,

colourists of painting.

on

treatise

art

cannot forgive

without naming a single Frenchman.

greater degree for having said that the French school

You have

lied

about

it.

and perhaps one of the leading

this impertinent
I

Webb

for having written a

cannot pardon Hogarth to any

had not even a mediocre

Mister Hogarth; on your part

it is

ignorance or

colourist.

servility.

am

aware that your nation has the habit of scorning an impartial author who dares to
speak of us with praise; but must you so basely pander to your fellow-citizens at the

well

if you can. Learn to draw and do not write. We


two very different ways of doing things. Ours is to
overrate English productions; theirs is to underrate ours. Hogarth survives after two
years. He stayed in France; and Chardin has been a great colourist for thirty years.
(Salon of 1765, on number 49: A Basket of Plums.)

expense of the truth? Paint, paint better


have, the English and ourselves,

am aware that

Chardin's models, the inanimate nature which he imitates, change

and that with equal perfection a portrait by La Tour


has more merit than a piece of genre by Chardin. But time will leave nothing to justify
the reputation of the former. The precious dust will lift from the surface of the canvas,
partly dispersed in the air and partly attached to the long plumes of old Saturn. One will
neither in place, shape or colour;

talk

about La Tour, but one

et in

puherem

reverteris.

will see

O La Tour! memento, homo,


number 38.)

Chardin.

(Salon of 1767, on

quia pulvis es

On Greuze
First, the

type pleases me;

it is

moral painting. WTiat! Has not the painter's brush been

devoted too long to debauchery and vice? Must we not be pleased at

last to see

it

compete with dramatic poetry to move us, instruct us, correct us and invite us to be
virtuous? Take heart, my friend Greuze, put a moral into your painting and do it always
like that!

(Salon of 1763.)

very fine portrait.

rugged build;
hair

is

done!

it is

How fine

is

see this portrait beside a


feeling

It

has the brusque and hard appearance of Wille;

his small, keen, startled eye; they are his blotchy cheeks.

the drawing,

how

bold the manner! ...

Rubens, a Rembrandt or a Van Dyck.

it

is

his

How well the

should be pleased to

should have pleasure in

what our painting might have to gain or lose. When one has seen this Wille, one
on the portraits by the others, even on those by Greuze. (Salon of 1765,

turns one's back

on the Portrait of the Engraver

Wille.)

99

On Michel Van Loo


.

Very

lifelike;

pretty as a

it is its

woman,

mellowness with his vividness; but too young, head too small,

ogling, smiling, with a girlish air, pouting, simpering; nothing of the

wisdom of the Cardinal of Choiseul; and then a


poor writer if the tax collector came to levy on

superfluity of clothing
his

wardrobe. ...

He

enough
is

to ruin the

seen full-face; he

bareheaded; his grey forelock, with that effeminate look, makes him look more

is

old coquette

philosopher.

trying to charm; the position of a Secretary of State

still
.

like

an

and not a

My pretty philosopher, you will ever be to me a worthy mark of the friendship of


an

artist,

and more excellent man. But what will my grandchildren say


compare my dreary works with this laughing, delicate, effeminate old

an excellent

artist

when they come to


coxcomb?
(Salon of 1767 on
.

On
.

Portrait of Diderot.)

Vernet

You know

rough or calm
storm

his merit. It

one sees

France

there in fourteen or fifteen paintings.

The

seas

become

sky darkens, the lightning flashes, the thunder rumbles, the

are ablaze; one hears the crash of the waves, the cries of those

rises; vessels

perish;

is all

at his will; the

who

one sees everything that pleases him. (Salon of 1759.)

may

boast about her Vernet with as

much justification

as Greece about

He

her Apelles or Zeuxis and Italy about her Raphaels, her Correggios and her Carracci.
is

a truly astonishing painter. (Salon of 1763.)

Diderot
The Salons, Ed. Gamier, Paris

The French School


On Boucher
F.

Boucher, principal painter to the King and

who

brings so

much honour

to

our French

me in 1767 that he was sixty-three years old and that, although it was true
had studied under Lemoine, he had not profited very much from a master who

school, told
that he

took so

little

care of his pupils and with

whom

M.Boucher assured me he had not spent more than


disciple, then,
...

He

is

he?

took

he had not stayed very long.


three years with

little

time in making the acquaintance of

M.de

Julienne who, wanting

handed some of them to Boucher, who acquitted


and lively hand seemed to be made for this work.

to engrave the drawings of Watteau,

100

M. Lemoine. Whose

himself p)erfectly well. His light

On

Chardin

The ordinary man gets pleasure from seeing things that go on daily under his eyes, in his
household, and without hesitation prefers them to loftier subjects which require some
study to be understood. I certainly do not want to go into whether this is detrimental to
taste; I shall confine myself to saying that, rightly speaking, M. Chardin's art is only a new
version of that of the Le Nain brothers. Like them he has chosen the most simple and
unsophisticated subjects and, in truth, his choice

is

He

even better.

and characters very well and he does not lack expression. That

has caught attitudes

in itself

who worked

believe

won them

has contributed most so far to the vogue for his paintings and

what

is

a place

somewhat similar style,


although his works and theirs are quite some distance apart. For, it must be admitted,
M. Chardin's paintings give the impression too much of fatigue and effort. His touch is
heavy and not at all varied. There is no facility in his brushwork; he expresses everything
in the same manner and with a sort of indecision that makes his work too cold.
alongside the Teniers and other Flemish painters

in

On

Desportes

...

It is

van

J.

not that he puts the same finish into his works as

Huysum and

other Flemish painters

who

appear only as rough outlines compared with


truth,

and are more

because he knew

each object as

some

parts

it

add

effective. It is

how

to use his

suited

him

is

found

in those

of Mignon,

same field. His


more freshness and

are distinguished in the

theirs, yet his

have

still

because M. Desportes had a good knowledge of his

that his

art,

and knew how to characterise


compositions are put together in a manner in which

brushwork

to the value of the others.

to

good

effect

On Greuze
After having painted the Dauphin, this prince, kindness itself, believed he could not
do anything more flattering or obliging than to ask him for a portrait of the Dauphine.
She was present and, without thinking what he was saying, Greuze asked to be excused
.

saying, "

am

not able to paint such heads."

disfigured the princess's cheeks, but

looked at the painter with

pity.

left it

He wanted

unsaid.

to criticise the rouge

They shrugged

which

their shoulders

and
101

On La Tour
He has not the
He goes into

freshness in his colour which Rosalba puts into hers, but he draws better.

very great detail and has the particular talent for getting a perfect

resemblance. But his

not do him honour.

mood
.

is

odd and

his

behaviour with an

infinity

of people

does

Here is an example. He was painting the portrait of Madame de Pompadour; the


King was present and the conversation turned to buildings which the King had had built;
La Tour, without being asked, spoke up and had the impertinence to say that that was
very good, but some warships would be more useful. It was at the time when the English
had destroyed our fleet and we did not have a single warship to put up against them.
.

On J.M.
.

Nattier

(He) soon gave up his historical talents and applied himself solely to portraiture,

certain that his

manner of painting would be pleasing

knowledge of painting extended only


wrong; he became the fashion.
by him, and

all

of them

shining with roses and

left

to the colours

Women,

particularly to

and the

beautiful or ugly,

came

with the satisfaction of carrying

finish.

in

women, whose
was not

Nattier

droves to be painted

in their

hands portraits

lilies.

On Watteau
.

This painter put finesse into his drawing without ever having been able to draw

in

the

his pencil work, is most lively, the shapes of


most pleasant, his expressions common enough but very graceful, his work
frothy. He had one misfortune, that was to become too easily dispirited with what he had
done. He has been seen wiping out parts of a painting that were well conceived and as

grand manner. His brushwork, the same as


his faces

well executed, only to substitute for


inferior.

He was

not at

all

too great use of a heavy

them other things

that

sometimes were very much

meticulous about painting cleanly and that, together with his

oil,

did great

harm

to his paintings.

Paul-Jean Mariette
102

Abecidaire

The
On
...

Italian School

Batoni
At

first

he was a jeweller by profession; he

and tooling them. Someone


miniature to set in

it.

made jewellery and

snuffboxes, engraving

happened to give him the order for a snuffbox and sent him a

Batoni looked at the miniature and took

it

head to copy

into his

it;

by dint of hard work he succeeded so well that the copy was taken for the original. Thus
encouraged, he draws, he paints ... he realises that he

is

a born painter, that

vocation; he applies himself to painting and in a relatively short time

becomes one of the

On

Bellotto

...

He

is

best painters in Italy.

a Venetian like his uncle; he

imitator of his master in

all

his

summon

is

makes

his

it is

his

name and

also painter of views.

He

seeks to be the perfect

work. The King of Poland, the Elector of Saxony, unable

nephew to Dresden and have him paint the principal


and then have him make engravings of them. This is done in 1752; one
might have thought them to be the work of Antonio Canal himself so much do they
resemble the handiwork of the latter in Venice. They have the same firm hand; and
to secure his uncle,

views of the

exception

the

city,

may

even be taken to too

that are not sensitive enough.

much

On

Canaletto

He

has become distinguished in the

painted pictures of this type, so

work and

his

much

and graduations of

light

field

of painting views and for a long time has

so that the finesse of his manner, the faithfulness of

made his work


whom he has done much work.

sought-after by

the singular nature of his views has

foreigners, particularly the English, for

On

similarity of touch,

Carriera
Vleughels, a friend of Rosalba, told

me

that before she began painting this scholarly

do but design patterns for lace called " Venetian points ", and
when these went out of fashion she was financially embarrassed since she had to live and
neither she nor her parents had any means. In this distressing position a French painter
named Jean Steve, who painted snuffboxes, which had become fashionable, persuaded
her to do likewise.
Thus do great things come out of little ones. ...
girl

had nothing

else to

103

On

Giaquinto

summoned

and there occupies the post of principal painter to


the King, which Louis-Michel Van Loo had held. It was said to be an underhand affair in
which the influence of the musician Farinelli played a great part. M. Cochin, in his Italian
Voyage, has him painting several ceilings in the palace of the King of Sardinia in Turin
and represents him immediately afterwards as chevalier and disciple of Solimena. But I
C. Giaquinto

think he

is

is

to Spain

mistaken and that he attributes to the Count de Corrado what belongs to F.de

Mura who,

in fact,

painted a

number of ceiHngs

in this palace.

On Longhi
He got a taste for conversational

...

everything that went on in private

subjects, festivals

life.

He was

able to

and masquerades and,

sum himself up and

in brief, for

decide that he

would never succeed himself as a painter of history in the grand manner. So he restricted
himself to these and was relished; he became another Watteau and received very many
commissions.

On

Pellegrini

...

He was

a practician

who would undertake to paint a vast ceiling as another might


He was only able to draw on nature, as much for

have undertaken a small easel painting.

He had some

moments, but they were rare. Time was to


efface very quickly what he produced and nothing remains to remember him by except
the fact that he was Rosalba's brother-in-law.
form as for colour.

On

Piazzetta

was admitted to the college of painters and since that time has never
ceased to be occupied on churches and private houses. ... He draws with the same
facility as he paints. ... He also made an infinite number of life-sized heads which he
drew from the model and which were almost all done in black stone and brought up with
white on blue paper. They were much sought-after and highly paid. He could hardly meet
the demand.
.

104

successful

In 1711 he

On

Ricci

When

knew him he was Uving

grandly. His genius

was of a very

in

an apartment

fine order.

On
...

and

living

His compositions were always successful and

always rich; his colouring striking and agreeable;


design.

in the Procuratorship,

all

he lacked was a better taste in

Tiepolo

He was

barely

more than

sixteen

when he was doing drawing

exercises. Since then he

it is none the
harmed his correction and he may be reproached for having
while giving way too much to the enthusiasm of his imagination. He was

has fathered compositions in which the richness of his genius shines, but
less true that this facility

neglected this

not very careful about the accuracy of his

may

be.

He was

tints.

His colouring

never able to paint graceful heads.

is

not true, seductive as

Paul-Jean Mariette
Abecidaire

it

Boucher
Boucher

is

personify

him

it

one of those men who stand for the taste of a century, who express
and are its incarnation. The French taste of the 18th century is manifested

in all the j)eculiarity

witness,

its

representative,

of his character: Boucher remains not only


its

While the century of Louis

XV

succeeds the century of Louis XIV,

and men become smaller, the

things

painter but

in
its

type.

elegant France evolves from ostentatious France, and

human

its

it,

when around

a royalty that

is

when
more

ideal of art remains a meretricious

and

conventional ideal; but from majesty this ideal descends to entertainment. Everywhere
there spreads a refinement of elegance, a delicate voluptuousness, what the period calls
attractive, the colouring of charm and grace, the embellishment
and love".... The pretty thing in those hours of fickle history there was the
symptom and the seductiveness of France. The pretty thing is the essence and the
formula of its spirit. The pretty thing is the school for its fashions. The pretty thing is the

"the quintessence of the


of

festivals

and the genius of Boucher.


Boucher was the first to turn drawing into a commercial proposition for the

soul of the age


.

and who brought down on himself wealth, taste and


fashion. The sheets of paper on which he strewed his studies and his whims were to come
out of the boxes of amateurs and exclusive collectors of drawings to adorn apartments,
figure on panels, enter into the decoration of the richest interiors. They assumed a
artist,

who launched

it

into publicity

familiar place in the boudoir, the salon, the

bedchamber or alongside

were to want them; the Joullains and the Basans were to buy them:

a table.

it

Women

was a mark of

distinction to have them.


E. et

J.

de Goncourt

Art of the 18th Century

Flammarion and Fasquelie,

The Analysis

of

Paris

Beauty
published a frontispiece to

Therefore in the year 1745

drew a serpentine-line

on a

lying

my

painter's pallet with these

engraved works in which

words under

it:

"The Line of

Beauty". The bait soon took; and no Egyptian hieroglyphic ever amused more than

it

came to me to know the meaning of it, bemg as


till it came to have some explanation; then indeed,

did for a time; painters and sculptors

much puzzled

with

it

as other people,

but not until then, some found

account they could give of


day-labourer,

who

its

it

out to be an old acquaintance of theirs, though the

properties

was very near as

satisfactory as that

which a

constantly uses the leaver, could give of that machine as a mechanical

power. (Preface.)
106

The

principles

mean

are fitness, variety, uniformity, simplicity, intricacy, and

quantity

all

which co-operate

Yet

in

if

may

more

in the indenting

have the advantage over the even ones

pleasing than uniformity.

Nature,

in all

works of

seems immaterial whether even or odd

etc.

shall define to

as, for

example,

be that peculiarity in the

lines,

which

wanton kind of chase, and from the pleasure that gives


name of beautiful; and it may be justly said that the cause of

that leads the eye a

it,

the mind, entitles


the idea of grace

it

to the

more immediately

which indeed includes

It is

it

(in

her works of fancy,

most frequently employs the odd;

preferred,

of leaves, flowers, blossoms,

Intricacy of form, therefore,

variety;

be allowed the expression, where

numbers of divisions were

compose

my mind odd numbers

art) as variety is

production of beauty, mutually correcting and

in the

restraining each other occasionally.

this,

resides in this principle than in the other five, except

and

all

the others.

and therefore are

to be observed that straight lines vary only in length,

ornamental. That curved

least

they can be varied in their degrees of curvature, as well

lines, as

on that account, to be ornamental. That curved and straight


lines, joined, being a compound line, vary more than curves alone, and so become
somewhat more ornamental. That the waving line, or line of beauty, varying still more,
being composed of two curves contrasted, becomes still more ornamental and pleasing,
insomuch that the hand takes a lively movement in making it with the pen or pencil.
And that the serpentine line, by its waving and winding at the same time different
as in their lengths, begin,

ways, leads the eye

in a pleasing

manner along

allowed the expression; and which, by

its

the continuity of

twisting so

many

enclose (though but a single line) varied contents; and therefore

expressed on paper by one continued


the help of a figure; see

where that

be called the precise serpentine


twisted round the elegant

am

line,

or line of grace,

and varied

variety, if

all its

may

may

be

be said to

variety cannot be

without the assistance of the imagination, or

sort of proportioned

line,

its

different ways,

is

figure of a cone.

winding

line,

which

will hereafter

represented by a fine wire properly


.

apt to believe that the not knowing nature's artful and intricate

method of

uniting colours for the production of the variegated composition, or prime tint of flesh,

hath

made

may

be

colouring in the art of painting, a kind of mystery in

fairly said,

out of the

ages;

all

many thousands who have laboured

insomuch

to attain

it,

that

it

not above

(who lived in a country


and had nothing but the life to study after) is said almost to have stood alone for
particular excellence. Guido, who made beauty his chief aim, was always at a loss

ten or twelve painters have happily succeeded therein: Correggio


village,
this

about

it.

Poussin scarcely ever obtained a glimpse of

different attempts: indeed

Rubens
distinct,

it,

as

is

manifest by his

many

France hath not produced one remarkable good colourist.

and in a masterly manner, kept his bloom tints


but sometimes too much so for easel or cabinet pictures.

boldly,

bright, separate,

and

William Hogarth
Analysis of Beauty

107

Gainsboroug^h, as seen by Reynolds

However,

it

is

odd scratches and marks which, on a close


Gainsborough's pictures, and which even to experi-

certain, that all those

examination, are so observable

in

enced painters appear rather the

effect

of accident than design,

this chaos, this

uncouth

and shapeless appearance, by a kind of magic, at a certain distance assumes form, and all
the parts seem to drop into their proper places; so that we can hardly refuse acknowledging the

full effect

of diligence, under the appearance of chance and hasty negligence.

The slightness which we see in his best works cannot always be imputed to negligence.
However they may appear to superficial observers, painters know very well that a steady
attention to the general effect takes up more time and is much more laborious to the
mind than any mode of high finishing or smoothness without such attention. His
handling, the manner of leaving the colours, or in other words the methods he used for
producing the effect, had very much the appearance of the work of an artist who had
never learned from others the usual and regular practice belonging to the
like

man

to accomplish his purpose. ...

Gainsborough did very much


beauty

art;

but

still,

way of his own


hatching manner of

of strong intuitive perception of what was regular, he found a

on

in his pictures, as

It

must be allowed that

this

which

to contribute to the lightness of effect

much smoothing and uniting


must have remarked how often that

the contrary,

is

so eminent a

the colours

is

apt

hand
which was in his dead-colour, or first painting, escaped in the finishing, when he had
determined the parts with more precision; and another loss he often experiences, which is
of greater consequence; whilst he is employed in the detail, the effect of the whole
to

produce heaviness. Every

together

is

artist

either forgotten or neglected.

observed, consists

most minute

more

The

likeness of a portrait, as

in preserving the general effect

finishing of the features, or

borough's portraits were often

little

more,

lightness of

have formerly

of the countenance than in the

any of the particular

in regard to finishing, or

parts.

Now

Gains-

determining the form

of the features, than what generally attends a dead-colour; but as he was always attentive
to the general effect, or

manner contributed even

whole together,

have often imagined that

this unfinished

to that striking resemblance for which his portraits are so

remarkable.

Reynolds
14th Discourse to Students

of the Royal Academy

Reynolds' Discourses to Students of the Royal

Academy

2nd Discourse (11 December 1769)


When you

what good colouring

you
cannot do better than to have recourse to nature herself, who is always at hand, and in
comparison of whose true splendour the best coloured pictures are but faint and feeble.
Style in painting is the same as in writing, a power over materials, whether
words or colours, by which conceptions or sentiments are conveyed. And in this
.

have clearly and distinctly learned

in

consists,

Ludovico Carrache

(I

mean

in his best

works) appears to

me

to

approach the nearest

perfection.

3rd Discourse (14 December 1770)


For

in the

same manner and on the same

the real forms of nature, distinct

principles, as he has acquired the

knowledge of

from accidental deformity, he must endeavour to

separate simple, chaste nature from those adventitious, those affected and forced airs or
actions, with

which she

great a share

in the

is

loaded by

modem education

composition of a great

style that

he

Beauty and simplicity have so

who

has acquired them has

little

else to learn.

Even

in the portrait grace,

and

dare to say, resemblance consist more in

capturing a general impression of physiognomy than copying each feature.

4th Discourse (14

Thus

figures

December 17J0)

must have a ground whereon to stand; they must be clothed; there must be a
light and shadow; but none of these ought to appear to have

background; there must be


taken up any part of the

artist's attention.

catch that of the spectator.

6th Discourse (10

We

drew

They should be so managed

as not even to

December 1774)

must trace back the

art to its fountain-head; to that source

their principal excellences, the

monuments of pure

from whence they

antiquity. All the inventions

and

109

thoughts of the Ancients, whether conveyed to us in statues, bas-reliefs, intaghos, cameos


or coins are to be sought after and carefully studied; the genius that hovers over these

venerable

relics

may

be called the father of

modem

art.

9th Discourse (16 October 1780)

The Art which we

profess has beauty for

to express; the beauty of which

that subsists only in the

mind

we

...

its

object; this

are in quest

is

always labouring to impart, and which he dies at

is

yet so far able to

spectator;

communicate as

our business to discover and

general and intellectual;

is

an idea residing

it is

it is

in the breast

last

art,

may

taste;

an idea

which he

and extend the views of the

be so far diffused that

extend themselves imperceptibly into public benefits, and be

bestowing on whole nations refinement of

is

it

artist,

without imparting; but which he

to raise the thoughts

and which, by a succession of

of the

which,

if it

among

effects

its

the

does not lead directly to

purity of manners, obviates at least their greatest depravation, by disentangling the

from

appetite,

may

means of

mind

and conducting the thoughts through successive stages of excellence, till


and harmony which began by Taste, may, as it

that contemplation of universal rectitude


is

exalted and refined, conclude in Virtue.

12th Discourse (10 December 1784)

The

art of seeing Nature, or in other

object, the point to

which

Our neighbours
their dexterity

is

all

words the

art of using models,

our studies are directed.

the French are

much

in this practice

such as even to excite admiration,

if

is

in reality the great

of extempore invention, and

not envy; but

how

rarely can this

praise be given to their finished pictures!

visited

The late Director of their Academy, Boucher, was eminent in this way. When I
him some years since in France I found him at work on a very large picture,

On my

without any drawings or models of any kind.

remarking

particular

this

when he was young, studying his art, he found it necessary to use


models; but he had left them off for many years.
think, all
... He often had grace and beauty, and good skill in composition; but,

circumstance, he said,

under the influence of a bad

taste; his imitators are

Sir

indeed abominable.

Joshua Reynolds

Extracts from Discourses

Delivered to Students of

110

the Royal

Academy

The Salons

of 1751

and 1753

Salon of 1751
.

M. Tocque has

exhibited portraits in which touch, finish, composition

and

fidehty to

nature appear undestroyed: each Salon adds to the reputation of this painter. The
greatest

compliment that can be paid

admired the great parts of painting


art

of the painter

in

set

M. de La Tour is to say that


The enlightened public have very much

to the ten pastels of

they are superior to those of preceding years.

out

in these pieces.

surmounting very considerable

We are struck by the very great

difficulties in the portrait

de La Reyniere, those of preserving the brilliance of colours


the likeness of a pretty

La Reyniere

is

present nature in a

without doing her an

way

The

of

Madame

her attire and of catching

injustice.

The

portrait of

M.de

and effects in the head of M.Wille


M. Perronneau in fourteen pastels has given

fleshiness

to delight art lovers.

and the pleasure of his colour. M.Vemet, so well known for his talent
seascapes and landscapes, has sent us three from Italy where his tastes, and perhaps his

proof of his
in

woman

a speaking likeness.

in

facility

circumstances, have kept him.

Salon of 1753
Never has the Salon been so
everything in

it

whose knowledge, acquired


taste.

brilliant,

so beautiful, so varied and so numerous;

responds to the reputation of the arts and the care of M. de Vandieres,


in

two

years' travelling in Italy, has perfected a natural

Gathered together are the noble and the elegant, the austere and the playful,
history

and

drawing as

fable, heroic

principle

its

imagination.

and pastoral, battle and allegory; nothing is lacking that has


and basis, nothing that can please the eye, the mind or the

M. Carle Van Loo,


composition, shows

all

of different

in six paintings

the grace of his brush

and the

sizes

fertility

and absolutely varied

of his mind: action, repose,

devotion, the great machine, easel paintings, even the portrait, everything

is

striking

proof of superior merit. M.Boucher has continued to delight with his gracefulness and

and the Sun, in overdoors for


Bellevue and in the " Seasons " painted for a ceiling at Fontainebleau; his style, which is

the pleasure of his composition in the paintings of Thetis

beloved and followed, warrants the welcome

it

receives.

Comte de Caylus
CEuvres, Ed. Laurens

1 1 1

"

La Lecture " by Frag^onard

...

A man

reads,

only that of his

and as

own

suits the reader,

existence!), he

the contrary which unfolds


seated:

and

is

presented to us, but quite full-face, in this young

speak of that dress with

attention of the pensive one,

and p>erhaps also the author of a novel (be it


back squarely on reality. It is his dream on

turns his

its

broad folds and lustrous

who shows

only an obliterated profile,

is

quite complete,

over there, behind, focused on an imaginary spot which she hesitates to join or leave.
her elbow, and as
to read, he

is

if

On

leaning on the railing of an invisible lake. But the reader has ceased

asking questions and the lines have disappeared from the

holding in his hands, and the sonority of an unspoken phrase

They

girl

reflections, but the

are sad paintings, those to which

it is

fills

little

book he

the whole scene.

impossible to lend an ear!

Paul Claudel
L'CEil ecoule, Gallimard

is

Watteau
Let us remember that Watteau
is

he who, at the beginning of

is

the great innovator

this

among

18th-century painters, that

extraordinary period in which the world

is

to turn

it

on

new themes and new poetry which are to reign until the fall of the
Bastille, and that it will take all David's Greeks and Romans to make us forget the hal
capricieux for a single moment. Let us remember that all that comedy in the Italian style,
its

hinges, invents

" Cythera ", the " Enseigne "

academic subjects as
that black
at in

laid

and

down

" Signature

in the

of the Contract

wig which the packers are carrying out

bantermg manner before taking

it

".

all

that

is

a break with

sun of Versailles, with the wig of the Great King,


in front

of us and that the porters look

away. Let us remember that Watteau

is

a youthful

Madame de Maintenon and

the bigotry of the final years of the Grand Century.


young but already dying, Watteau abandons decoration and the
charms in which he excels to press, beyond his own poetry, an investigation of the world
by painting; he guesses at and discovers in the depths of the near future the strength and
novelty of realism, all the equivocacy of middle-class comedy with its porters on the side,
and he paints this picture which, thirty years before the Encyclopaedia, is singularly
denial of

And

at thirty-seven,

still

prophetic of Denis Diderot.

Aragon

U Enseigne de Gersaint
Ides et Calendes, 1946

(A propos o^ Indifferent)
No, no, it is not that he might be
of Aurore; rather

let

indifferent, this mother-of-pearl messenger, this herald

us say that he

is

poised between flying and walking, and not only

is

he already dancing, but with one arm outstretched and the other broadly spreading a
wing, he holds a balance in which weight,

lyrical

least

element.

seeks

it

feeling

in

He

is

ready to go or to come, he

our eyes, from the quivering

and part

talk, half-poised

tip

more than

listens,

half countered,

is

only the

he waits for the precise moment, he

of his fingers.

Half-fawn, half-bird, part

but already half-relaxed! Sylph, marvel, and the giddy

pen ready to draw a flourish!


Paul Claudel
L'(Eil ecoute, Gallimard

Watteau, Recorder of the Ephemeral


What

a mystery

comedy

is

a great artist! Whether Watteau wished

in the eternity

of nature

across his bitter destiny.

He

of life too short and of the

is

is

the image of existence of us

Trembling

soul, adoring soul

pinks and the pale blues quiver like his poor soul.

Between two

flutters

seen by an ardent nature


and with admirable love,

all,

the confronting, without respite

infinite desired.

or not, his sentimental

it

He

the burned-out

he

feels that

is

going to

die.

of an eyelid which mark the awakening of consciousness and the

repose which comes too soon, he expresses the happy appearances and the poignant
realities

of the adventures to which he

The resigned pessimism of the


the

masquerade and masks

itself

is

condemned.

Italian farce, the cruel reality

which prowls through

with black velvet, came at their destined hour to afford

distraction to a dying aristocracy

and

under flowers. The whole century

will feel

to the
it;

profound

man who

hides this death struggle

Tiepolo, Cimarosa, Guardi and Longhi will

fete; and from Spain herself, sombre,


and seeming almost dead, comes the bantering laugh of Goya. But with Watteau
it is the prelude, intimate, delicate, drunk with tenderness, wildly desirous of making the
illusion endure. He listens to the wind. He wanders and chats with the comedians. Like

reply, later on, to

Watteau, from the centre of the

ruined,

them he embroiders upon any canvas. Never did


is

always the same,

like the relationship

of

subject have less importance in

man and woman

itself. It

with love and with death.

is so, how monotonous The groups posed on the moss, like leaves torn dying
from the trees, or like ephemeral butterflies, will be carried away by the breeze which
hurries them on to the abyss, with the forgetfulness and the phantoms, the plaint of the
violoncellos, the sigh of the flutes, the perfumes, and the sound from the jets of water.
When one isolates from its frame the talk of all these charming creatures, dressed in
satin, powdered, rouged, having nothing in life to do but make love and music,

Since that

everything expresses the joy of the instant seized on the wing. Here

is

nothing but

prattle,

rockets, and cascades of laughter, and an intricate crossfire of gallantries and confessions.

The round dance turns, innocent games


and mandolin scarcely cause

begins, the flute

are organised and,

ensemble give that sensation so near to sadness? The


steps

and swayings, scattered words, necks

when

voices to be lowered.
spirit

of the poet

the concert

Why
is

does the

Slow

present.

that turn aside to seize a phrase of gallantry,

throats bending to escape or offer themselves, inclined and laughing faces resembling
flowers only half-open,

all will

pass, all will pass!

How

quickly a society appears and

disappears under trees a hundred years old which, themselves, will die one day! Nothing
is

eternal but the sky,

from which the clouds

reveals a terrible ennui with

life; it is

can cradle the despair of those


will fix the

will disappear.

The costumed comedy

only the song of the sonorous instruments which

who have nothing to do

but amuse themselves.

impalpable instant when love transfixed him, and he

who comes

None of us
to

with tones which penetrate one another and lines which continue one another,
14

with a desire that he will never satisfy.

tell

still

of

it

bums

To
which

tell all this,

he had therefore placed that which

most durable among

is

the things seen

by our eyes

the

is

most

died at Nogent, under the fog and the trees, quite near the water.

from

his

Flemish country, and from a

visit

fleeting

amid

that

space and the great woods. He


He had brought back

he had made to England, the love of moist

landscapes where the colours, in the multiplied prism of the tiny suspended drops, take

on

their real

depth and their splendour. Music and

sonorous wave,

vapour which

rising

sets its

from tense

strings, itself

trees, the

whole of him

belongs to the

life

of the

is

air,

in

them. The

with the light

azure haze around the scattered branches, the slender trunks which

space themselves or assemble in clusters near the edge of the deep forests, and the

luminous glades away toward the distance and the sky. The sound does not interrupt the
silence, but rather increases

it.

Barely,

if at all,

a whispered echo reaches us from

wandering upon the

it.

We

and the phrases


exchanged are to be guessed from busts leaning over or thrown back, and from fans that
tap on hands the actors in the charming drama are at a distance from their painter, and
scattered to the depth of the clearings which flee toward the horizon, whose blue grows

do indeed

see the fingers

strings; the laughter

deeper, little by little. And the genius of painting resolves into visual harmonies the
sound of the instruments which hovers over the murmur of the voices. The green, the red

or the orange of the costumes of comedy or of parade, and the dark and silky spots

by the groups of people conversing, are mingled with the

and unites the

tips

diff"used silver

made

which trembles

of the nearby leaves with the sunny spaces which stretch away

among

the dark trunks.


Elie

Faure

Histoire de I'Art: L'Art

Moderne

Jean-Jacques Pauvert, Paris 1964

The Leafy World


The assembly of the gods

is

held in the boudoir of the favourites. All the good sculptors

of the century, old Coyzevox


as well,

first

of

and then Lemoine, Pajou,

all,

in

whom

Puget

is still felt,

Pigalle, Falconet, the brothers

and already Clodion

Adam, and Bouchar-

don, will not be quite themselves until they introduced into the fashionable Olympus,

Chubby Eros or Venus at her toilet, like a lady of elegance well-versed in matters of love.
And Nattier will paint the princesses of the blood as rustic divinities, almost disrobed at
times, their

arms and

their fingers,

and

and with flowers garlanded on their dresses, around


Rose bushes grow among the yews and the trimmed

their feet bare,

in their hair.

boxwood of Versailles.

These

moreover, do not lose their petals as soon as they are plucked. They

roses,

be applied

will

along the walls, they will encircle the sofas and the ladies

all

around mirrors and chandeliers and

there, they will be

canopies of beds. Everyone,


nature
feel

".

living in

it

like

But upon condition that

sole cause of

man, and

its

who

chat

be suspended from the

Coypel and Caylus, for example, talks of "imitating


submit to the caprice of the society

it

to experience

eternal character.

will

least

prepared to

mystic intoxication, without which art loses the

its

Watteau

is

a king of the spirit

whom

the aristocracy of

will obey. But it will take its revenge, in its turn, by giving its orders to those who
succeed Watteau. " Nature " will reduce itself to a kind of objet d'art placed on a

France
will

shelf,

and destined

who

by those

for the usage of fashion set

possess favour and

money

which, by the way, they employ with extreme elegance.

Watteau being dead, the 18th century


ehte

is

aesthetically

measure that creative force declines and shrinks


is

bankrupt of taste. The entire

furnished with an intense art education, which rises and broadens in

is

drawing-room

art,

which does not pass the

in the souls

limits

of the

it

in the

artists, its servitors. It

of the drawing-room. The exhibitions

of paintings are themselves "Salons". Painters, sculptors, engravers, jewellers, goldsmiths, cabinet-makers, hairdressers, tailors and bootmakers

all

the fine flower of a highly-developed culture with this frail

and creeping frame which

brings out

its

splendour, but which tightens around

to be lost to view,

and exhausts

itself in satisfying

it,

contribute to surround

gradually causes

a spirit which

is

its

natural origins

fading and dying of

ingenuity and ennui. Everywhere, around the conversationalist and the coquette, in

unglazed porcelain, marble and tapestry, from the glass cabmet for bibelots to the

crystal,

tableware, from the carriage to the sedan chair, and from the antechamber to the alcove,
this

charming

science,

art repeats

and

reflects the

words exchanged about

love,

about new-bom

about Persia, about China, about the spectacles of the day, and about the

countryside seen from an opera box.


drains the amiability of

artist, scatters

which are strewn about, disperses

it

fashionable

with the

art,

which uses up and completely

flights

of the

through a thousand

it

Amors and

toilet articles,

the flowers

and debases

it

through those same surroundings.


Frangois Boucher

is its

soul.

Fashion insinuates

itself

and

fixes itself

around

his

easy fecundity which everywhere, on ceiling, screens, carriage panels and small friezes

above doors, on caskets and

fans, scatters

its

monotonous

one who

subjects

shepherdesses and

loved enjoyment and who

is adored
Charming in manner, generous,
by men and women, ceaselessly exchanging with his century that which they both need in
order to love and be loved, he stands, with the mistress of the King, at the centre of his
own revolving circle of winged loves and of flowers woven in garlands, which he is quite
free
to bring forth in greatest profusion and to hang up
as artists of his race alone are
wherever it pleases the alert and spontaneous fantasy of his desire, which is ever in accord

pastorals.

with his requirements. In order to yield to the flexible grace of this world, where
philosophic and gallant conversation flows on sinuous
everything adapts

116

itself

lines,

and makes

delicate detours,

without effort to the forms imagined by the architect and the

cabinet-maker of society, forms tending constantly toward the circular. The

fat, soft

woodwork and

roundnesses turn with the

the frames; there are

beribboned shepherdesses, and serving maids

whom

chubby shepherds,

the painter raises to the dignity of

goddesses by disrobing them, to show their full-blooded young

flesh, their smiles, their

dimples, and the elastic and quickly-swelling curve of their buttocks and their breasts.

plump

The

children of Bouchardon, the sculptor, are swept into the dance. Fragonard

is

and Boucher, through his savory master Lemoyne, through Watteau, and
through the world of decorators and artisans inspired by him, links the whole fragile
setting of the French aristocracy with the supreme teaching of the Italian fete which
Tiepolo, at the same time with him, is unfurlmgover the ceiling of Venetian bedchambers
prefigured;

and drawing-rooms. Almost freed from form, the aerial harmonies sprinkle, with the
rouge of cheeks and the powder from puffs, light skies, where the whirl of the clouds
effaces itself little by little in the diffused rose and silver.
Unfortunately, the twisted and serpentine line prevents the decorator from

making a complete escape

into space

and ever

world of fashion, for which he was born.


first

time the

artist is

philosopher

who

they forget,
rain

and

little

who

destroys.
ill

by

him

to labour for the tyrannous

remains the prisoner of the prince. For the


critic who
who diffuses knowledge and the
sculptor who lose most through these

admitted to the drawing-room and the table, with the

dictates rules, the writer

contacts; they are

He

recalls

It is

at ease
little,

explains and the scientist


the painter

between

the

life

and the

rationalistic analysis

and sentimental abstraction;

of the profound volumes and of the colours steeped in

when they enter upon moral considerations, where they very quickly
way. The only one who gains is the newsmonger of plastics, who grows up

in light,

lose their

somewhere between the rhymer of epigrams and the indiscreet confidant^ the engraver
of anecdotes of gallantry and of spicy gossip, who pretends that he was present,
concealed behind a screen,

at the

disrobing of the bride, at the consultation of the

marquise, and at the vicomte's or the abbe's capture by assault of the chambermaid. The
genius for gossip, rendered sharp and subtle by a century of the

life

of fashion, overflows

the drawing-rooms, the suppers,

thing that

is

and the teas in the English style, and sweeps over everyexpressed by pen, pencil and modelling tool. Cochin, Beaudoin, Moreau the

Younger, Eisen, Leprince, and the Saint- Aubins, create a chronicle of fashion peculiar to
this country and this period. Conversations are carried on in exquisite style with a pastel
crayon, a luminous engraving, pretty as a blonde

that one finds on turning the pages of

a tale of gallantry or of a classic tragedy, or in a delicate,

powdered head on a translucent

medallion a quarter the size of one's hand. Everything


ladies, the article in the Encyclopaedia, the short story

Diderot.

is

conversation

letters to the

by Voltaire, and the critique by

A witty word shakes a world, and a hundred thousand such words are struck off

every day.
Elie

Faure

Histoire de i'Art: L'Art

Moderne

Jean-Jacques Pauvert, Paris 1964

Chronolog^y

Date

Arts

Political Events

Literature, Philosophy,

Science and Technology

Theatre and Music

1700

war with

Peter the Great at

Birth of Natoire.

Sweden.
1700-14: Spanish

War

of

Succession.

King of Prussia.

1701

Frederick

1702

Fourth

1703

Foundation of St Petersburg.

Birth of Boucher.

1704

British at Gibraltar.

Birth of Quentin de

1705

Condemnation of Jansenism.

Birth of Carle

I,

War

of Louis XIV.

La Tour.

Translation oi Arabian Nights.

Englishman Thomas

Van Loo.

Newcomen

develops

\
firs>t

steam engine.

Hardouin-Mansart completes

1706

Dome

of Invalides.
Birth of Buffon.

1707
First porcelain in Europe,
invented by Bottger.

1708

1709

Polish revolt against

Berkeley's Principles of

Stanislas.

Human

i
1

Knowledge.

Robert de Cotte and


Hardouin-Mansart complete

1710

chapel of Versailles Palace

begun

in 1699.

Messein porcelain.
1712

Destruction of Port-Royal.

Birth of Guardi.

Birth of Rousseau.
Corelli

1713

Birth of Diderot.

Frederick-Wilhelm succeeds
Frederick

" Concerti Grossi ".

I.

Leibniz

Monadologie.

Treaty of Utrecht.
Stradivarius
in

makes

violins

Cremona.

Birth of

1714
1715

Death of Louis XIV;


accession of Louis

1716

Vemet.

Law founds

Vivaldi

XV.

1719

Concertos for

Fenelon Letter
Academy.

the General

to the

Couperin revives

Watteau Embarkation for

F.

the Island of Cythera.

the clavichord.

Peter the Great expels

Fahrenheit thermometeir.

Gil Bias.

Violin.

Bank.
1717

Lesage

Defoe

art

of

Robinson Crusoe.

Jesuits.

Voltaire

CEdipus.

Date

Arts

Political Events

Literature, Philosophy,

Science and Technology

Theatre and Music

1720

Law

flees

riots in Paris.

Watteau Enseigne de
:

Gersaint.

1721

Creation of Holy Synod in

Montesquieu

Death of Watteau.

Persian Letters.

Russia.
c.

1721

Hotel de Matignon

Bach Brandenburg Concertos.


:

in Paris.

Defoe

1722

Bach

Afoll Flanders.

Well-tempered Clavier

(first part).

Rameau Modem harmonic


:

system.

XV comes of age.

1723

Louis

1724

Russia

Bach Passion of St John.

Birth of Reynolds.

Birth of Kant.

Tariff protection.

Foundation of Paris Bourse.


1725

Death of Peter the Great.

1726

Birth of Greuze.

Vico

1726-7

Swift

in

1727

Quakers against

slavery.

Tiepolo frescoes
Udine.
:

Gulliver's Travels.

Birth of Gainsborough.

Chardin

1728

Philosophy of History.

La Rate

ouverte.

J.

Gay and Pepusch

Beggars' Opera.
Birth of Mengs.

Dom.
in

Rossi
Venice.

1728-41

Jesuits'

Church

Chateau de Rohan

in Strasburg.

Passion of St Matthew.

1729

Bach

1731

Voltaire

Birth of

Haydn.

1732
1733

Birth of Fragonard.

War of Succession

in

Poland.

Frescoes by

Asam

and Zimmermann

brothers

Charles

XH.

Pope Essay on Man.


:

Abbe

Weltenburg.

Prevost

Manon

Lescaut.
Birth of Hubert Robert.

Pergolese

The Maidservant

Mistress.

Hogarth Harlot's Progress


and Rake's Progress.
:

1734
1735

Turkish war against Austria

Salvi

Rameau

Romney.

Birth of

Fountain of Trevi.

and Russia.
Lancret

The

Ham

Luncheon.

Demonstration by Dufay
of positive and negative

at

Castor and Pollux.

electricity.

Date

Political Events

Science and Technology

Literature, Philosophy,

Arts

Theatre and Music

Death of

1736

First

Pater.

Chinese drama transEurope by P. Premare.

lated in

1737

Inauguration of "Salon" of

Scarlatti

painting

clavichord.

Sonatas for

F. Algarotti

for

1738

Boucher

1739

Chardin Grace,
The Governess.

Newionianism

The Luncheon.

Hume:

Treatise on

Human

Reaumur thermometer.

Nature.

Frederick

1740

Women.

II

Anti-Machiavel.

Death of Frederick- Wilhelm


succession of Frederick

War

II.

of Succession in

Austria.

La Tour President de Rieux.

1741

Performance of Handel's
Messiah in London.

Birth of Fuseli.

Young

1742

Life,

Night Thoughts on
Death and Immortality.
:

Death of Lancret.

1743

Death of Rigaud.
1744

Louis XV declares war on


England and Austria.

1745

Battle of Fontenoy.

Birth of Herder.

Hogarth Marriage a
:

Mengs:

Portrait of

la

Mode.

Rameau: Temple of Glory.

Madame

Thiele.

Birth of

1746

Vauvenargues

Goya.

Death of

Maxims.

Condi llac Essay on

Largilliere.

Origins of

Human

the

Knowledge.

1747

Franco-Dutch War.

Completion of Sans-Souci
Palace in Potsdam.

La Metlric Man-Machine.

1748

Treaty of Aix-la-Chapclle.

Ruins of Pompeii discovered.

Montesquieu Esprit des

748-50 Gainsborough
:

Portrait of Robert

and his
1749

Lois.

Andrews

H'ife.

Swedenborg; The Heavenly


.Arcana.

Fielding:

Tom

Jones.

Birth of Goethe.

Celsius thermometer.

Date

Political Events

Arts

Literature, Philosophy,

Science and Technology

Theatre and Music

Tiepolo frescoes at Labia


Palace in Venice.

1750

Goldoni

Tiepolo decoration
of Archbishop's palace at
:

Invention of planing

machine by Focq.

Death of
1750-3

Venetian Dramas.

J. -S.

Bach.

Richardson

Clarissa.

Wurzburg.
1751

Abolition of slavery
Pennsylvania.

Voltaire

in

Century of

Louis XIV.
First volume of
Encyclopaedia (1751 -72).

1752

Condemnation by High
Court of

Boucher Girl on a Couch.


:

L Encyclopedic.

Rousseau

Discourse on

Invention of lightning

conductor by Benjamin

Inequality.

Franklin.

Boucher Sunrise.

1753

Oudry The White Swan.


:

Foundation of

British

Museum.
1754

1755

Condillac Treatise on
Sensalionism.
:

Anglo-French Colonial War.

Greuze: Father of the Family.

Death of Montesquieu.

Discovery of carbonic
gas by Black.

Lisbon Earthquake.

Death of Oudry.

La Tour Marquise de
Pompadour.
:

1756

War (France.
Austria and Russia against
England and Frederick 11).

Seven Years

Piranesi

Roman

engravings.

Birth of Mozart.

Voltaire

and
1757

Birth of William Blake.

1757-91 :Soufflot:

Spirit

Diderot

Essay on the Morals


of Nations.
Illegitimate Son.

The

Pantheon, Paris.

Publication of Nibelungen.

1758

Helvetius:

1759

Voltaire

Of the

Mind.

Candide.

Death of Handel.
Birth of Schiller.

1760

Reynolds founds the Society

Macpherson Songs ofOssian.


:

of Artists.
1760-1

Reynolds

Portrait of

Miss

Diderot: The Nun,

Nephew of Rameau.

Nelly O'Brien.
Birth of Hokusai.

1761

France evacuates India.

Greuze: L'Accordeede
Village.

Rousseau

Nouvetle Helolte.

Date

Political Events

Arts

Literature, Philosophy,

Science and Technology

Theatre and Music

1762

Catherine

II

seizes

Roussrau Social Contract,

power

Emile.

in Russia.

Gluck

Orpheus.

Goldsmith
1763

1764

Treaty of Paris.

Chinese Letters.

Gabriel builds the Petit

Winckelmann History of

Trianon

Art.

Bengal revolt crushed by

Hogarth

British.

Bathos.

at Versailles.

Finis,

or The

Death of Hogarth.
Archbishop of Paris demands
removal of Baudouin's works
from Salon because of

1765

Sterne

Sentimental Journey.

immorality.

1766

Lorraine reunited with


France.

Fragonard

The Swing.

Goldsmith

Vicar of

Death of Nattier.

isolates

1766-8: Lessing: Laocoon.

Lessing

1767

Cavendish
hydrogen.

Wakefield.

Minna von Barnhelm.

d'Holbach Christianity
Unmasked.
:

1768

Russo-Turkish War.

Death of Canaletto.

Birth of Chateaubriand.

Foundation of Royal

Academy.
1769

Birth of Bonaparte.

1770

Death of Boucher.

d'Holbach System of Nature.

Joseph Cugnot produces


first steam-driven

Death of Tiepolo.

Birth of Beethoven.

carriage.

Gainsborough
1771

Dissolution of Pariiament
by Louis XV.

Watt's steam engine.

Birth of Lawrence.

Houdon

Cook

Blue Boy.

in

Oceania.

Bust of Diderot.

Diderot

1773

Herder

James

the Fatalist.

Eulogy of the Gothic.

Goethe: Werther.
1774

Death of Louis

XV;

Gluck

Iphigenia in Aulis.

accession of Louis XVI.

1775

American War of

Gainsborough

Independence.

Place.

Seville.

1775-80: Victor Louis:

Spencer
of Man.

The Watering

Bordeaux Theatre.

Beaumarchais Barber of
:

The Real Rights

English scientist Edward


Jcnncr discovers vaccine.

Date

Arts

Politicml Events

Literature, Philosophy,

Science and Technology

Theatre and Music

1776

British colonies in

Fragonard Festival of

Gibbon's Decline and Fall of

revolt

Si Cloud.

the

America
Independence for

Roman

Empire.

United States.
1776-80: La Scala. Milan.
Reslif de la Bretonne;
Perverted Peasant.

Death of Natoire.

1777

Goya The China

1778

Seller.

Laplace and Lavoisier


invent the calorimeter.

Death of Rousseau.
Death of Voltaire.

1779

Suppression of serfdom

French royal

in

Death of Chardin.

Lessing

The Robbers.

Schiller

estates.

Death of Mengs.
1779-82

Odeon

Construction of the

in Paris.

1/80

Wieland

Gluck

Kant

1781

Nathan the Wise.


:

Oberon.

Iphigenia in Tauris.

Critique of Pure

1783

1784

Laclos

Pitt's

India Act; British

Dominion

Dangerous Liaisons.

d'Alembert

Treaty of Versailles.

Herschel discovers
planet Uranus.

Reason.
1782

Foundation of modem
chemistry by AntoineLaurent de Lavoisier.

Miscellany of

Montgolfier brothers

Philosophy, History

invent

and

balloons.

Literature.

Rivarol

On

first

aerostatic

the Universality

of the French Language.

in India.

Death of Diderot.
Gretry

Richard Caur

de Lion.

Louis David

1785

The Oath of the

Horalii.

Sade One-hundred-andtwenty Days.


:

Mozart Marriage of Figaro.


:

Watt's double-action
steam engine.

Englishman

Edmund

Cartwright invents power


loom.
1786

Affair of the Queen's


Necklace.

Modem

Guardi Venetian "vedute"


and "capriccios".
:

stenography.

Duchess of
Devonshire and her Daughter.

Reynolds
1787

American Constitution.

de Saint-Pierre:
Paul el Virginie.
B.

Second Russo-Turkish War.


Schiller

Don

Carlos.

Mozart Don Giovanni.


:

First iron-hulled ship.

Date

Political Events

Literature, Philosophy,

Arts

Science and Technology

Theatre and Music

1788

Death of Quentin de La Tour.

Death of Buffon.

Vigee-Lebrun Portrait of the


Painter Hubert Robert.

Kant Practical Reason.

Cherubini
1789

Storming of

David

Bastille:

Oath ofJeu de Paume.

Iphigenia in Aulis.

The German Martin

Goethe: Tasso.

Heinrich Klaproth
discovers uranium.

Declaration of Rights of

Man.

Death of Vernet.
Blake: Marriage of Heaven

1790

and

Hell.

Birth of Lamartine.

1791

Mozart Requiem.

French Constitution.

Industrial production of

synthetic soda by

Death of Mozart.

Nicolas Leblanc.

The metre,

basic metric

unit.

1792

Fall

of French Monarchy;

first

republic. France at

Goethe Roman
:

Elegies.

war

with Prussia and Austria.

Lighting from coal gas,


by the Englishman

Murdock.

Rouget de Lisle:
Lm Marseillaise.
Birth of Rossini.

1793

Execution of Louis XVI.

Death of Guardi.

Condorcet

Progress of the
Mind.

Human

1793-5: Vendee War.

1794

Executions of Danton and


Robespierre.

Chenier

Fichte

Babeuf Manifesto of

The

1796

English symphonies.

Bases of Science.

Directory.

Failure of Babeuf Plot.

Birth of Corot.

J.

de Maistre

On

the French

Revolution.

Risorgimento

Wars of

Vendee

Discovery of lithography
by the German Aloys

the Directory.

Death of Catherine

pacified

Scnclcldcr

II

I.

by Hochc.

Englishman Joseph Bram.


produces the h>draulic
press.

in Italy.

accession of Paul

1797

telegraph.

Schiller: Letters on Aesthetic


Education.

Equality.

1795-9:

Father Claude Chappe

lambes.

creates an aerial

Haydn

1795

Tieck

Fantasy Talcs.

Holderin: Hyperion.
Birth of Schubert.

Date

Political Events

Science and Technology

Literature, Philosophy,

Arts

Theatre and Music

1798

Wars of French Empire.

Goya

Fortrail of

F. Guillemardet.

Coleridge and Wordsworth


Lyrical Ballads.

Nelson's victory at Aboukir.


1799

Bonaparte,

first

Machmc of conlmuous
production of paper
invented.

Birth of Balzac.

Consul.

Coal-gas lighting by the


Frenchman Lebon.

Beethoven: Pathetique
Sonata.

1800

Maria

Schiller:

The

Stuart.

Italian Volta invents

the electric battery.

Cherubini

The Water

Carrier.

1801

Haydn

Concordat between Pope


and Bonaparte.

American Robert Fulton


conceives first idea of a
submarine.

The Seasons.

Jacquard's mechanical
loom.

Manufacture of beet
sugar.

1802

Bonaparte, Consul for

life.

Death of Romney.

Chateaubriand

Spirit

of

Christianity.

First steam-driven
locomotive built by

Trevithick.

Hugo.

Birth of Victor

Maine de Biran elaborates his


philosophy.

1803

Robert Fulton's
steamship.

Birth of Berlioz.

1804

Napoleon's coronation.

Schiller

William

Tell.

Death of Kant.
1805

Napoleon, King of

Italy.

Death of Greuze.

Chateaubriand

Death of

End of Holy Empire.

Death of Fragonard.
Ingres

Goya

1808

La
3

Rene.

Schiller.

Beethoven
1806

Fidelia.

Hegel Phenomenology of
the Mind.
:

Belle Zelie.

May

1808.

Death of Hubert Robert.

Goethe Faust.
:

Beethoven Pastoral
Symphony.
:

Beginning of construction
of the Paris Bourse.

Death of Haydn.

1809
1810

1810-18: Goya: Disasters of

First

food canning.

War.
1811

Birth of the

King of Rome.

Mechanical printing
press by the

Konig.

German

Museums

Artist

City

Museum

Title

Boucher. Francois

Leningrad

Hermitage

Leningrad

Date

Material

Dimensions

The Bridge

Canvas

nrx2'5-

Hermitage

Head of a Woman

Canvas

i'2-x

Munich

Pinakothek

Recumbent Girl

Canvas

rii-x2'5'

Paris

Louvre

The Mill

Canvas

2' 2'

Paris

Louvre

The Odalisk

c.

Canvas

i'9-x2'r

Paris

Louvre

Diana leaving the Bath

1742

Canvas

no-x2'5'

Paris

Louvre

The Painter

Wood

irx9-

Rome

National Museum
of Ancient Art

Morning

Canvas

2'2- X 2'8'

Rome

National Museum
of Ancient Art

La

Canvas

20'

Boymans-Van

Chinoiserie

Canvas

l'3'x 1-8'

1733

Canvas

4'9- X 4'9-

1737

Canvas

2'8'x2'l'

La Pourvoyeuse

1738

Canvas

16-

La Pourvoyeuse

1739

Canvas

1'6'x

La Ratisseuse

c.

Canvas

1'4-x 11-

Canvas

2'8' X 2'2'

Canvas

2'8- X 3'3-

(1703-70)

Rotterdam

in his

1752

1743

Studio

Petite Jardiniere

ir

X 2-9-

X !'6'

Beuningen

Museum

Chardin, JeanBaptiste-Simeon
(1699-1779)

Berlin

Kaiser-Frederick

Lady

sealing a Letter

Museum
Berlin

Kaiser-Frederick

Young

Man

drawing

Museum
Berlin

Kaiser-Frederick

X l'3'

Museum
Berlin

Kaiser-Frederick

\y

Museum
Berlin

Kaiser-Frederick

1739

Museum
Florence

Museum

Glasgow

Hunter Museum

Glasgow

Hunter

Glasgow

Hunter

Munich

Uffizi

La

Petite Fille au Volant

Lady drinking Tea

1736

Museum

Tavern Waiter

c.

1738

Canvas

16'

Museum

The Cleaner

c.

1738

Canvas

1-6- X 1-2'

Picture Gallery

Woman

c.

1739

Canvas

16'

Paris

Louvre

Jar of Olives

1760

Canvas

2'4' X 3'3'

Paris

Louvre

Copper Fountain

1733

Wood

11-X9'

Paris

Louvre

Dessert

1763

Canvas

1'7-x 110'

Paris

Louvre

Self-portrait with green shade

1771

Pastel

l'6"x 13'

Paris

Louvre

Portrait of

1775

Pastel

16'

scraping Turnips

Madame

Chardin

X \-2-

X \'3'

X 1'3'

Artist

City

Museum

Title

Paris

Louvre

Young

Paris

Louvre

Paris

Material

Dimensions

Canvas

2'2' X 2'5'

Child with Top

Canvas

2'2- X 2'5'

Louvre

House of Cards

Canvas

2'6- X 2'3-

Paris

Louvre

The Industrious Mother

Canvas

r7-x

Paris

Louvre

Grace

Canvas

l'7-x l'3'

Paris

Louvre

La Pourvoyeuse

1739

Canvas

1'6'x 1-3-

Paris

Louvre

Le Singe Antiquaire

Before
1740

Canvas

2'7''x2'r

Paris

Louvre

Le Singe Peintre

Before
1740

Canvas

2'4' X 2'0'

Paris

Louvre

Attributes of Art

1765

Canvas

3-0' X 4'9'

Paris

Louvre

Attributes of Music

1765

Canvas

2'ir x4'8'

Paris

Louvre

La Raie

1728

Canvas

3'9' X 4'?'

Paris

Louvre

The Buffet

1728

Canvas

6'3'x4'2'

Paris

Louvre

Le Souffleur

1734

Canvas

4'irx3'3'

Stockholm

National

The Fountain

1733

Wood

1-3' X 1'5'

Stockholm

National

The Tapestry Worker

Canvas

7'x6''

Stockholm

National

Le Dessinateur

Canvas

T'x?"

Stockholm

National

La Blanchisseuse

1737

Canvas

r2'x V5'

Stockholm

National

The Industrious Mother

Before

Canvas

r7''x 1'3'

Canvas

r7'xi'3'

Canvas

r7'xi'3'

Date

Man

with Violin

l'3-

1741

Stockholm

Grace

National

Before
1741

Stockholm

Le Neglige

National

Before
1741

Stockholm

Fragonard.

Before
1746

Canvas

l'5'x |'2'

privee

L'Econome

1747

Canvas

I'S'x l'2'

Les Amusements de

National

la

Vie

Stockholm

National

Amiens

Picardy

Museum

Les Lavandieres

1761-5

Canvas

r7-x2'2'

Amiens

Picardy

Museum

Autumn Landscape

1765-72

Canvas

8'x

Barcelona

Museum

Abbe St Son

1748-52

Round
wood

Diam.

1754-5

Canvas

131" x9'IO'

Jcan-Honore
(1732-1806)

Modem
Besangon

Museum

of
Art

in

Spanish Dress

Venus Triumphant

IT
2'6'

Artist

City

Museum

Title

Grasse

Cathedral

Jesus washing the Feel of his


Apostles

Leningrad

Hermitage

The Furtive Kiss

Leningrad

Hermitage

The Peasant Family

New York

Metropolitan

Date

Material

Dimensions

Canvas

16'

1745

Canvas

l'8-2'0-

The Lost Stakes

1761-5

Canvas

1'7-x 2'0"

The Waterfall

1773-6

Canvas

11-^9-

The Thicket

1773-6

Canvas

ll'x9'

1773-6

Canvas

r7'x rir

1773-6

Canvas

2'9- X 2'2-

1773-6

Canvas

2'3'x

The Two Sisters

1777-9

Canvas

Invocation to Love

1780-8

Canvas

r6-x

Jerehoam

1752

Canvas

3'9' X 4'9'

1780-8

Oval
canvas

Z'O'x

f.

1790

rio"

Museum

New York

Metropolitan

Museum

New York

Metropolitan

Museum

New York
New York

Metropolitan

Family Scene

Museum

House

Metropolitan

Billet

an Italian

in

Doux

Museum

New York

Metropolitan

Profile

of a Young Girl

no-

Museum

New York

Metropolitan

4-xr9-

Museum
Orleans

Museum

of

1-2-

Painting
Paris

Paris

Paris

Paris

Ecole des Beaux


Arts

sacrificing to

the Idols

Madame

Cognac-Jay

Portrait of

Museum

Bergerct de Norinval

Cognac-Jay

Portrait of

Museum

with Collar

Jacquemart- Andre

The

Young

Man

New Model

1-8'

1789-1806 Oval
canvas

r6-x r3'

1765-72

Oval
canvas

r8''>2'0'

Museum

3'2"

Pans

Louvre

The Hay Waggon

1761-5

Canvas

2'5'

Paris

Louvre

The Warrior's Dream of l.ovc

1761-5

Canvas

Paris

Louvre

High Priest Coresus


Himself to save

1765

Canvas

10 2' X |3'3-

1761-5

Canvas

13"

1761-5

Canvas

2'5- X 2'0-

1761-5

Oval
canvas

r7-x

>^

0'^ rs'

sacrificing

Callirhoe

Pans

Louvre

The Explosion

Pans

Louvre

l.itlle

Pans

Louvre

Young

Cascades

Woman

at Tivoli

holding a Child

r5'

i'i-

Artist

City

Museum

Title

Paris

Louvre

Les Curieuses

Paris

Louvre

Music

Paris

Louvre

Paris

Material

Dimensions

Wood

6-x5-

1769

Canvas

2'8- X 2'2'

La Chemise enlevee

1765-72

Canvas

r2'x

Louvre

The Bathers

1765-72

Canvas

2'2- X 2'8-

Paris

Louvre

Inspiration

1765-72

Canvas

2'7- X 2'2-

Paris

Louvre

The Music Lesson

1765-72

Canvas

3'5-x3'ir

Paris

Louvre

Portrait of the

1765-72

Canvas

2'7- X 2'2'

Paris

Louvre

The Song

1769

Canvas

2'7' X 2'2'

Paris

Louvre

Blind-man

1773-6

Canvas

1'2'x l'6'

Paris

Louvre

Love Call

1780-8

Wood

9-x

Paris

Louvre

Bacchant Asleep

Canvas

1'6'x 110"

Rouen

Museum

Dream of Plutarch

1748-52

Canvas

9"x

Rouen

Museum

Mountain Landscape with


Thatched Cottage

1761-5

Oval
canvas

rO'x

Rouen

Museum

The Washerwomen

1773-6

Canvas

r9-x2'3'

Troyes

Fine Arts

Repose of the Holy Family

1748-52

Canvas

6'2'x4'r

Date

Abbe

St

Non

Buff

\'S'

IT

I'O-

10-

Museum

Gainsborough,

Washington

National Gallery

Love's Folly

1765-72

Oval
canvas

1-9" X 1'6-

Washington

National Gallery

Love on Guard

1765-72

Oval
canvas

l'9'x 1-6"

Washington

National Gallery

Le Cheval fondu

1773-6

Canvas

3'10''x2'ir

Washington

National Gallery

La Main chaude

1773-6

Canvas

3'9' X 3'0'

Washington

National Gallery

The Swing

1773-6

Canvas

7'0'x6'r

Washington

National Gallery

Blind-man

Buff

1773-6

Canvas

7'0' X 6'6'

Washington

National Gallery

Visit to the

Nurse

1777-9

Canvas

2'4'x2'ir

Bologna

Liceo Musicale

J.-C.

1776

Canvas

11"

Dublm

Trinity College

Anne, Duchess of Cumberland

1766

Canvas

10'

London

National Gallery

Wooded Landscape

1774-88

Canvas

7-x8-

1777

Canvas

I'l'x 1'5-

Bach

x9'

Thomas
(1727-88)

with

X 10-

House

London

National Gallery

Two Dogs

Artist

City

Museum

Title

London

National Gallery

An Old Horse

London

National Gallery

Date

The Painter's Daufihters

Material

Dimensions

Canvas

9-

Canvas

3'6- X 3 5-

Canvas

10'

1768

Canvas

ro-x

1755-6

10-

chasing Bullerfiies

London

National Portrait
Gallery

Lord Amherst

London

National Portrait
Gallery

John,

London

National Portrait
Gallery

George Colman

1785

Canvas

11'* 11

London

Tale Gallery

The

1784

Canvas

3'3-x2'l|-

London

Tate Gallery

Sir William Blackstone

1774

Canvas

ro-x

10-

London

Tate Gallery

The Market Cart

1786-7

Canvas

2'5' X

20-

London

Tate Gallery

Child leading Cattle

1774-88

Canvas

9-x 10-

London

Tate Gallery

Gipsies around a Fire

1770

Canvas

1-7' X

rio-

London

Tate Gallery

A Servant (Unfinished)

1782-6

Canvas

3'3-x

rir

London

Tale Gallery

Nymph

at the

Bath

Canvas

2'5- X 2'0-

Melbourne

National Gallery

Mouth

of the

Thames

1783

Canvas

20'

Melbourne

National Gallery

An

1770

Canvas

2'11-xrir

New York

Metropolitan

Charles Rousseau Burney

1770

Canvas

Duke of Bedford

Baillie

Family

Officer

X 10'

10-

X 2'6-

0- X 10'

Museum

New York

Metropolitan

Nathaniel Burrough

Canvas

10"

V 10-

Museum

New York

Queen Charlotte

1782

Canvas

9"x7-

Upland Hamlet with Figures


and Stream

1783

Canvas

r7-x I'lr

Museum
Metropolitan

Cottage Children

1787

Canvas

ni-x

Metropolitan

Museum

New York

New York

Metropolitan

1-6-

Museum
l^aris

Louvre

Lady Gertrude Alston

1760

Canvas

l|-x2'2-

Paris

Louvre

Man and Woman

1746

Canvas

lO'x 10-

in a

Landscape

Grcuzc.

Paris

Louvre

Conversation

Leningrad

Hermitage

Paralytic tended by his


Children

Leningrad

Hermitage

Young

Jean-Baplislc

in

a Park

1767

Canvas

2'5' ^ 2'3'

Canvas

Canvas

14--

|-x3'IO*

(I725-IK()5)

Woman

smiling

\\

Artist

City

Museum

Title

Leningrad

Hermitage

Portrait of a

Leningrad

Hermitage

Yotmg

Mctz

Museum

Mctz

Material

Dimensions

Canvas

TT^

1'9"

Canvas

2'0-x

|'8-

Bacchant

Canvas

rio-x

Museum

Young Boy

Canvas

l'5-x

yy

Mctz

Museum

Count d'Angivillers

Canvas

2'2'x

i'8'

Montpellier

Museum

Young Girl with Basket

Oval
canvas

l'6'x

yy

Montpellier

Museum

The

Canvas

y(3"xyy

Montpellier

Museum

Young Girl

Wood

l'3"x I'O"

Montpellier

Museum

Young Girl

Canvas

1'6-x i'2'

Montpellier

Museum

Head of a Child

Canvas

r3"x ro'

Montpellier

Museum

Paralytic's

Canvas

2'rx

Paris

Louvre

The Emperor Sever us


reproaching Caracalla

Canvas

4'l"x5'3''

Paris

Louvre

Danae

Canvas

I'l'x i'4'

Date

Man

Little

Boy
with Tricorn

1763

Mathematician

at Prayer

Head
1769

vy

i'9"

(sketch)
Paris

Louvre

L'Accordee de Village

1761

Canvas

2'H"x3'lO"

Paris

Louvre

The Ungrateful Son

1767

Canvas

4'3''x5'4"

Paris

Louvre

The Son Punished

1767

Canvas

4'ir'x5'4-'

Paris

Louvre

The Broken Pitcher

Oval
canvas

3'7" X 2-9''

Paris

Louvre

La

Laitiere

Canvas

3'6"x3'r

Paris

Louvre

Young Girl

Canvas

r4"x

Paris

Louvre

The Dead Bird

Canvas

2'6"x 19"

Paris

Louvre

Dr Duval

Canvas

1'6'x

yy

Paris

Louvre

Fahre

d Eglantine

Canvas

2'0"x

yr

Paris

Louvre

Armand Gensonne

Canvas

riO'x

Paris

Louvre

J.-B.

1763

Canvas

2'5' X 2'0'

Paris

Louvre

Elienne Jeaurat

1769

Canvas

2'8' X 2'2-

Paris

Louvre

Jupiter

Canvas

II-x

Tournus

Museum

Young Girl

Canvas

I'lO-x 1'4-

Tournus

Museum

Canvas

l'8-x |'5"

-R.

Greuze

and Aegina

Greuze

1800

I'l"

1'6-

1'4'

Artist

City

Museum

Title

Tournus

Museum

Canon

Toumus

Church of

the

Date

Material

Dimensions

Piol

Canvas

Si Francis of Assist

Canvas

6'7' X 3'2-

5-x

1'9'

Madeleine

Guardi,
Francesco

Museum

vf

Napoleon Bonaparte

1789

Canvas

rio'x

Kaiser-Frederick

Departure of Balloons over

1784

Canvas

2'2-x rs-

Museum

the

Kaiser-Frederick

Roman

Canvas

r9'x2'4'

Canvas

3'3- X 4'6'

Canvas

31' x4'4'

Canvas

2'4'x3'll-

Versailles

National

Berlin

Lagoon

(1712-93)
Berlin

Ruins

Museum
Copenhagen

Museum

London

National Gallery

of Art

Return of the

"

Bucentaur"

Pesaro Palace on the Grand

Canal

London

National Gallery

San Marco Square

London

National Gallery

Tower and Lagoon

Mesire

Canvas

8x

London

National Gallery

Venice and the Doges' Palace

Canvas

riO-x2'5'

London

Victoria and
Albert Museum

Ruins with a Church

Canvas

3'|-x2'4-

Milan

Poldi-Pezzoli

The Grey Lagoon

Canvas

9'x

Canvas

2'3' X

at

1-4-

yy

Museum
30'

Munich

Pinakothek

Gala Concert

New York

Metropolitan

The Grand Canal

Canvas

l-4'x2'4'

Landscape with Ruins

Canvas

S'l'xS'M-

Canvas

2'2- X 3'3-

Canvas

r8'x2'7-

Canvas

2'2' X 3'3'

Canvas

2'4- X 3'2-

Canvas

3'6' X 6'8'

Canvas

3 6- ^ 6'8'

Canvas

3'2' X 4'5-

Canvas

r6'x2'4'

Fresco

13 9'

in

Venice

1782

Museum

New York

Metropolitan

Museum
Paris

Louvre

The Doge on the " Bucentaur


on Ascension Day

Rome

National Museum
of Ancient Art

Giudecca Canal

Toulouse

Museum

Departure of" Bucentaur

Venice

Museum

of the

"

1763

"

Island of San Giorgio

Academy
Venice

Ca'Rezzonico

Visiting

Room

in the

Monastery of San Zaccaria


Ridotto (The Casino)

Venice

Ca'Rezzonico

11

Venice

Ca'Rezzonico

The Ixigoon Frozen

Venice

Cad'Oro

Market before

the

Royal

1789

Palace

Venice

Labia Palace

Aurora

x6'9'

Artist

City

Moseam

Title

Vienna

Albcrtina

Old Tower
Square

Vienna

Albertina

Vienna

Material

Dimensions

Canvas

2-r x2'ir

Grand Canal with Santa Lucia


and the Scala Church

Canvas

2'l'x2'll'

Albertina

San Giorgio Afaggiore

Canvas

2'4- X 2'8'

Vienna

Albertina

Santa Maria della Salute

Canvas

2'4- X 2'8'

Vienna

Albertina

Piazzetta and Doges' Palace

Two
canvases

2'4' X 2'8'
2'5' X 2'8'

Canvas

ll-xl'6-

Dnieper

Canvas

3'irx5'8-

San Marco Square

Canvas

ro'xr6"

Portrait of Viscountess de

Canvas

2'6'x2'r

Vienna

Kunsthistorisches

Date

Entrance

in

San Marco

Venice Arsenal

to

Museum
Vienna

Kunsthistorisches

Museum
Vienna

Kunsthistorisches

Museum
Hogarth, William
(1697-1764)

Geneva

Museum

la Valette

London

National Gallery

London

National Gallery

Self-portrait

1745

Canvas

2'irx2'3"

Portrait oj the Actress

1740

Oval
canvas

2'5'xrir

Lavinia Fenton

London

National Gallery

Ann Hogarth

1740

Canvas

London

National Gallery

James Quin

1740

Canvas

2'5' X 2'0'

London

National Gallery

1740

Canvas

1'2'x rs"

1745

Canvas

2'irx2'3'

1749

Canvas

2-7''

Marriage a
(series

London

National Gallery

of

la

Mode

six)

Self-portrait of the Painter

with his

Dog

London

National Gallery

The Gate of Calais

London

National Gallery

Portrait of Servants

Canvas

2'0' X 2'6-

London

National Gallery

The Shrimp Girl

Canvas

2'rx rs-

London

National Gallery

Breakfast

Canvas

l'4'x3'0'

London

National Portrait
Gallery

Hogarth painting the Muse


of Drama

1758

Canvas

3'4-x 1'3-

London

National Portrait
Gallery

Bishop Benjamin Hoadtey

1743

Canvas

4'10'x3'3'

London

Sir

Rake's Progress

1732-3

Canvas

l'O-xl'3-

1755

Canvas

1'4-x r9-

John Soane's

Museum
London

Sir

John Soane's

Museum

X 3'

(eight plates)

The Election
(four plates)

Artist

City

London

Museum

Titk

Date

Material

Dimensioiis

South London Art

The Wanstead Assembly

1728

Canvas

2'3--2'ir

Scene from the Beggars'

1731

Canvas

rio-^2'5-

1742

Canvas

5'3-^5'ir

1735

Canvas

511-^40-

Canvas

16'

Gallery

London

Tate Gallery

Opera

Lancret, Nicolas
(1690-1743)

London

Tate Gallery

The Graham Children

Chantilly

Conde Museum

The

Leningrad

Hermitage

La Camargo

Leningrad

Hermitage

The Kitchen

Canvas

|'4- ri'

Paris

Louvre

The

Wood

10-

Paris

Louvre

Innocence

Canvas

2'll'x2'll-

Paris

Louvre

The Music Lesson

Canvas

2'll'x2'ir

Rome

National Museum
of Ancient Art

Rendezvous

Canvas

11' X 8'

Rome

National Museum
of Ancient An

Family Portrait

Wood

Rome

National Museum
of Ancient Art

The Fire

Canvas

14"

Rotterdam

Boymans-Van

Pastoral Dance

Canvas

Study of Hands

Canvas

2'2'x

Ham

Luncheon

c.

1730

Italian Theatre

X \'5'

'^

9-

4-x

|'|-

ir

9-x2'3'

Beuningen

Museum
Museum

Largilliere,

Algiers

National

Nicolas de
(1656-1746)

Grenoble

Museum

Jean Pupil de Craponne

1708

Canvas

2'9' X 2'3'

Leningrad

Hermitage

Commemoration of the

1687

Canvas

2'3'x6'7'

Canvas

4'2'x2'10'

Canvas

4 10-X9 II-

Canvas

7'7'x6'2'

I'S-

Entertainment given for


Louis XIV by the Paris
Magistrates in 1687
Lille

Museum

Jean Forest

Paris

Louvre

Portrait of the Artist with


his

r.

704

Wife

Paris

Louvre

Portrait ot

Pans

Louvre

Portrait

presumed to be
Fermier-General de Laage

Canvas

4 8'

Rotterdam

Boymans-Van

Portrait of Jeanne de Rohais

Canvas

2'8-x2'2-

Canvas

2'7-x2'2'

Lc Brun

1686

X 3'6'

Beuningen

Museum
Versailles

National

Museum

Self-portrait

1711

Artist

La Tour,
Maurice
Qucntin de

City

Museum

Title

Vienna

Kunsthistorisches

Museum

Boucher dOrsay, Provost


of Paris Merchants

Geneva

Museum

Isabelle

Geneva

Museum

The Negro

Paris

Louvre

Portrait of

Paris

Louvre

Mademoiselle Dangeville

Paris

Louvre

Louis

Paris

Louvre

Paris

Material

Dimensions

Canvas

4'6' X 3'6-

1741

Pastel

2'2'xl'6'

1753

Pastel

riO'x

Pastel

rO'x

1748

Paste!

IT

Louis, Dauphin of France

1748

Pastel

2'i"x

Louvre

Marie- Josephe de Saxe

1761

Paste!

ri"x9"

Paris

Louvre

Madame de Pompadour

1752-5

Pastel

5'9" X 4'2"

Paris

Louvre

Jean Restout

1746

Paste!

l'4"x ro'

Paris

Louvre

Marechal de Saxe

1747

Pastel

2'ir x2'ir

Paris

Louvre

Chardin

1760

Pastel

I'll" X l'7"

Paris

Louvre

Self-portrait

Pastel

I'lO-x l'6"

Saint-Quentin

Museum

Portrait of

1753

Pastel

\'\"^%'

Saint-Quentin

Museum

Marquis

d Argenson

1753

Pastel

2'rx

Saint-Quentin

Museum

Madame

Boete de Saint-

Pastel

l'l"x9'

Prepara-

Date

Van Zuylen

1766

(1704-88)

d Alembert

XIV

d Alembert

i'6'

1'9-

xQ"

rr

I'S"

Leger
Saint-Quentin

Museum

La Camargo

1
'

"

X 9-

tory

sketch

Saint-Quentin

Museum

Mademoiselle de Lagrange

Paste!

13"

Saint-Quentin

Museum

Ch. Jacques Collin

Pastel

l'l"x9"

Saint-Quentin

Museum

Marquise de Courcy

Prepara-

10" X 9'

1740

ro"

tory

sketch

Saint-Quentin

Museum

1761

Crebillon

Prepara-

ro"x9'

tory

sketch

Saint-Quentin

Museum

Charles Pinot Duclos

1748

Pastel

l'5"x l'2"

Saint-Quentin

Museum

Don Peuche

1739

Pastel

2'0-x |'8-

Saint-Quentin

Museum

Father

1757

Pastel

i^-x

Saint-Quentin

Museum

Madame

Prepara-

ri"x9"

Emmanuel
Favarl

tory

sketch

vy

AltlBt

City

Museum

Tide

Date

Saint-Quentin

Museum

Marie Fel

1757

Saint-Qucntin

Museum

Duverger de Fourbonnel

Pastel

1'4-^ 10-

Saint-Quentin

Museum

Gamier dlsle

Pastel

1'5'x l'2'

Saint-Quentin

Museum

Jean de Julienne

Pastel

ll-xQ-

Saint-Quentin

Museum

Le Riche de La Poupliniere

1742

Pastel

ni'x

Saint-Quentin

Museum

Antoine-Gaspard Grimod de

1751

Pastel

2'7- X 2'5'

Marie-Josephe of Saxony and


Duke of Burgundy

1761

Pastel

5'2- X 3'9-

Material

Pastel

Dimensions

X 9-

1-7-

La Reyniere
Saint-Quentin

Museum

ihe

Saint-Quentin

Museum

Jean-Joseph Cassena de
Mondonville

1747

Pastel

2'2-x I'lO-

Saint-Quentin

Museum

Jean Mounet

1756

Pastel

rii-x r7-

Saint-Quentin

Museum

Jean Paris de Monmartel

1746

Pastel

2'4'x

Saint-Quentin

Museum

Charles Parrocel

1743

Pastel

no-

Saint-Quentin

Museum

Marquise de Pompadour

1753

Prepara-

n'x9'

noX

r5-

tory
sketch

Saint-Quentin

Museum

Mademoiselle Puvigny

Prepara-

l'|-x9-

tory

sketch

Saint-Quentin

Museum

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

1753

Pastel

i'6-xn-

Saint-Quentin

Museum

Count of Saxony

1747

Pastel

i'7-x ro-

Saint-Quentin

Museum

Marie-Christine of Saxony

1763

Prepara-

11-X9-

tory

sketch

Saint-Quentin

Museum

Prince Clement- Wenceslas

1763

Pastel

20'

X 9-

Prepara-

21-

Paste!

20-

X 1'8-

Study

2'3-x 1-9-

Canvas

8->

of Saxony
Saint-Quentin

Museum

Prince Xavier of Saxony

1761

r9-

tory

sketch

Nattier,

Saint-Quentin

Museum

Louis de Sylveslre

Saint-Qucntin

Museum

Baroness de Tuyll

Copenhagen

Academy of

Portrait of Louis Tocque

<

Madame

1745

Canvas

^x4'2-

1717

Canvas

ll-x3'8-

1741

Canvas

Jean-Marc

1753

1739

2'I-

Fine Arts

(16K5-I766)

Florence

Uffizi

Moscow

Pushkin

Paris

Louvre

Museum

Henriette, as Flora

Battle of Poltava

Portrait of a

Woman

Artist

City

Museum

Title

Date

Oudry, Jean-

Leningrad

Hermitage

Sli/l-ll/e

c.

Madrid

Prado

1740

Material

Dimensions

Canvas

3'3- X 2'5-

Canvas

4'6' ^ 3'9-

Canvas

2'10'x3'4-

Baptiste

(1686-1755)

Lady Maria Josefa Drumond,


Countess of Casielhlanco

Reynolds,
Sir

Paris

Louvre

Slill-life

London

National Gallery

Dr Samuel Johnson

1772

Canvas

2'5-x

London

National Gallery

Lady Anne Lennox

1759

Canvas

4'0' X 3'3'

London

National Gallery

Lord Heathfield

1787

Canvas

4'8' X 3'8-

London

National Gallery

The Age of Innocence

1788

Canvas

yj'xTr

London

Royal Academy

Self-portrait

1773

Wood

4'r x3'4'

Paris

Louvre

Portrait of Master

Hare

Canvas

2-6"' X

Sao Paulo

Museum

The Children of Edward


Holden Cruttenden

Canvas

5'10''x5'6'

Selkirk

Bowhill

Portraits of Elizabeth Duchess


of Buccleuch and her
Daughter Lady Mary Scott

1772

Canvas

6'10''x4'l0'

Paris

Museum

Le Genie du Tomheau

1796

Canvas

l'8"x \'y

Paris

Museum of
Decorative Arts

Canvas

r9'x2'0'

in the

Canvas

3'ir x4'9'

Canvas

rii'x r6-

1775

Canvas

i'irx4'2'

1781

Canvas

2'9" X 3'8'

with Violin

1'9-

Joshua

(1723-92)

(Scotland)

Robert, Hubert
(1733-1808)

of
Decorative Arts

Banquet of the Five Hundred

Museum

Gallery

Rome

Paris

Ecole des
Beaux Arts

Port of the Ripella

Paris

Ecole des
Beaux Arts

Lavandieres dans un Pare

Paris

Carnavalet

Demolishing the Bridge at

Museum

Neuilly

Paris

Paris

Paris

in

1766

Carnavalet

View of the Fire at the

Museum

Opera Theatre

Carnavalet

Demolition of Houses on
Notre- Dame Bridge in 1768

Canvas

2-9''

Demolition of Houses on the


Pont au Change and Tour de
FHorloge in 1768

Canvas

2'10'x5'2-

Museum

Carnavalet

Demolition of the Bastille

1789

Canvas

2'6' X 3'8'

Desecration of the Tombs of


Kings at Saint- Denis

1793

Canvas

19'

X 2'!'

Canvas

ir

X 1-4"

Museum
Paris

2'0'

Carnavalet

X 5'2'

Museum
Paris

Carnavalet

Museum
Paris

Carnavalet

Prisoners

Museum

at Recreation

in Saint-

Lazure

Artist

City

Museum

Title

Paris

Carna valet

Interior

Museum

Prison

Carnavalet

Mausoleum

Museum

Rousseau

Carnavalet

Date

Material

Dimensions

1793

Canvas

1'4-x \'\-

of Jean-Jacques

1794

Canvas

2'2' " 2'7-

Demolition of the Church of


Saint-Jean en Greve

I8(X)

Canvas

20-^

Museum
Paris

Louvre

Ruins of a Temple

1783

Canvas

4'9- X 2'6-

Paris

Louvre

Temple of Diana

1787

Canvas

7'll-x7'|l-

Paris

Louvre

The Pont du Card

1787

Canvas

7'll'x7'ir

Paris

Louvre

Triumphal Arch

1787

Canvas

7'll-x7'il-

Paris

Louvre

The Maison Carree, Arenas


and Tour Magne at Nimes

1787

Canvas

7'll-x7'll'

Paris

Louvre

Cascatelles de Tivoli

Canvas

2'5- X 2'0-

Paris

Louvre

Inside a

Canvas

4'8' X 2'6-

Paris

Louvre

The Fountain

Canvas

5'6- X

20'

Paris

Louvre

Wandering Singers

Canvas

2'4-x

no-

Paris

Louvre

Spiral Staircase

Canvas

10-x \\'

Paris

Louvre

Proposed Conversion of the


Grande Galerie at the Louvre

Canvas

I'l'x r5'

Paris

Opera Museum

Wood

ir

x9-

Wood

14-

\\-

\y

Paris

Paris

Tiepolo.
Giambattista
(1692-1770)

of Sainl-Lazare

at

Nimes

at Saint- Remy

Park

Fire at the

1783

1796

Opera

(Two

paintings)

preaching

1'9-

Rome

National Museum
of Ancient Art

Monk

Rome

National Museum
of Ancient Art

The Landing Stage

Wood

r.vx

Rome

National Museum
of Ancient Art

The Monumental Fountain

Canvas

Rome

National Museum
of Ancient Art

The Maison Carree

Wood

I'l'x vs-

Berlin

Kaiser-Frederick

Cathedral of Saint-Agatha

1740-50

Canvas

60'

X 4'4-

The H'ay up

1738

Canvas

18'

X 2'!'

1751-3

Canvas

r3'x2'0-

in the

Ruins

at

Nimes

4-x V\-

Museum
Bcrlm

Kaiser-Frederick

to

Calvary

Museum
Bcrim

Kaiscr-Fredcrick

Rinaldo

Museum

Armida

in the

Garden of

Artist

City

Museum

Title

Date

Material

Dimensions

Berlin

Kaiser-Frederick

Si Dominic institutes the

1737

Canvas

3'3"x

Museum

Rosarv

Kaiser-Frederick

Saint

Roch

1730-5

Canvas

l'9-x 1'4-

Toilet

of Venus

Canvas

yr X 4'8'

Berlin

|'7-

Museum
Berlin

Kaiser-Frederick

Museum
Berlin

Kaiser-Frederick

Museum
Chicago

Art Institute

Twenty-two frescoes,
including Death of Dido

1754

Frescoes

Rinaldo and Armida surprised

1751-3

Canvas

6'rx8'8'

by Ubaldo and Guelfo

Chicago

Art Institute

Rinaldo bewitched by Armida

1751-3

Canvas

6'rx8'8'

Chicago

Art Institute

Rinaldo abandoned by Armida

1751-3

Canvas

6'rx7'r

Chicago

Art Institute

Rinaldo and the Hermit

1751-3

Canvas

6'rx7'r

Chicago

Art Institute

Madonna

1730-5

Canvas

9'0' X 4'6'

1722-5

Canvas

i'rx9"

Dominic

with St

and St Hyacinth
Chicago

Art Institute

St

Leningrad

Hermitage

The Annunciation

1720

Canvas

l'6"x

Leningrad

Hermitage

Rape of the Sabines

1720-2

Canvas

9'5"x 19'3-

Leningrad

Hermitage

Triumph of Scipio

Canvas

i7'H"x

Leningrad

Hermitage

Volumnia and her Children


before Coriolanus

Canvas

12'8''x7'r

Leningrad

Hermitage

Fabius Maximus before the


Senate of Carthage

Canvas

12'8'x7'r

Leningrad

Hermitage

The Dictatorship offered

Canvas

I2'8"x7'r

Canvas

2'3"x2'ir

Canvas

l'7"x2'0''

1751

Canvas

2'5"'x l'9-

1751-3

Canvas

5'2-x r9-

Jerome

in the

Desert

vy

lO'S"

to Cincinnatus

Leningrad

Hermitage

Maecenas presents
to

the Arts

1743-4

Augustus

Leningrad

Hermitage

Alexander and Diogenes

London

National Gallery

Marriage of Frederick
Barbarossa

London

National Gallery

Two Bearded

London

National Gallery

Renaud

1751-3

Canvas

5'2"x

1'9'

London

National Gallery

Two Turks

1751-3

Canvas

5'2'x

i'9-

London

National Gallery

Man and

1751-3

Canvas

5'2-x |'9'

London

National Gallery

Descent from the Cross

1750-60

Canvas

21-

Orientals

Young

Woman

X 1'5'

Artist

City

Museum

Title

London

National Gallery

Madrid

Prado

Madrid

Prado

Date

Material

Dimensions

The Trojan Horse

Canvas

r3-x2'2-

Olympus

Canvas

2'10''<2'0'

Translation of the Santa Casa

Canvas

40'

X 2'9-

of Loreto

50-

Madrid

Prado

The Immaculate Conception

1767-9

Canvas

9'2- X

Madrid

Prado

Angel Watching over the

767-9

Canvas

6'rx5'IO-

Eucharist
X 3'8-

Madrid

Prado

St Pascal Baylon

1767-9

Canvas

50-

Madrid

Prado

Triumph of Venus

1762-70

Canvas

210-

Madrid

Prado

St Francis of Assisi receiving

1767-9

Canvas

9'l-x5'0-

1762-70

Canvas

6'6- X

Presentation at the Temple

Canvas

1'3'x I'g-

Holy Bishop

Canvas

1'5-x 11-

Allegory with an Angel


(two paintings)

Canvas

2'2-x|'9-

The Bronze Serpent

Canvas

310-

20-

the Stigmata

Madrid
Milan

Prado
St

Ambrose

Abraham and

the

Angel

50-

Church
Milan

St

Ambrose

Church
Milan

St

Ambrose

Church
Milan

St

Ambrose

50-

Church
Milan

Joshua commanding the Sun

1725-30

Canvas

ll-x2'4-

Madonna

1730-5

Canvas

5'10-x3'4-

Death of St Jerome

1732-3

Canvas

1'2'x Vb'

Apotheosis of the Saints

1734

Canvas

r7'H

11-

Sis Gaetan, Antony


John the Baptist

and

1740-50

Canvas

rS'x

11-

Museum
Metropolitan

Apotheosis of Francesco

1745-50

Canvas

8'3'x I5'3'

Museum

Barharo

Metropolitan

Miracle of Saint Theola

1758-9

Canvas

2'7-x

Neptune and Zephyr

1762-70

Canvas

20-

Canvas

l'9-x r4-

Poldi-Pezzoli

Museum
Milan

Poldi-Pezzoli

with Rosary

Museum
Milan

Poldi-Pezzoh

Museum
Milan

Poldi-Pezzoli

Museum
Milan

New York
New York

Poldi-Pezzoli

{'6-

Museum

New York

Metropolitan

X 2'0'

Museum

New York

Metropolitan

Museum

Courage and Wisdom

Artist

City

Museum

Title

New York

Metropolitan

Esther and Ahasuerus

Date

Material

Dimensions

Canvas

l'6-x4'3"

Museum
Paris

Louvre

Apollo and Daphne

1740

Canvas

3'2' X 2'7'

Paris

Louvre

The Last Supper

1745-50

Canvas

2'7'x2'Il'

Paris

Louvre

The Charlatan

Canvas

2'7' X 3'7'

Paris

Louvre

The Minuet

Canvas

2'7' X 3'7'

Paris

Louvre

Meekness and Humility

Canvas

4'0'x2'10'

Paris

Jacquemart-Andre

Arrival of the

Canvas

13'2-x23'4'

Museum

Henry HI

Jacquemart-Andre

Spectators on the Balcony

Canvas

9'10-x3'8'

Fame announces the Arrival


of the Emperor

Canvas

32'10'x 13'r

Museum
Jacquemart-Andre

Apotheosis of a Hero

Paris

Emperor

Museum
Paris

Paris

Jacquemart-Andre

1730-40

Museum

Frescoes

moved on
to canvas

Paris

Peace and Justice

1735-40

Canvas

7'll-x6'7-

Rape of Europa

1720-2

Canvas

3'3'x4'5'

Diana and Actaeon

1720-2

Canvas

3'3-x4'5'

Diana and Calypso

1720-2

Canvas

3'3"x4'5-

Apollo and Marsyas

1720-2

Canvas

3'3- X 4'5'

Jesus healing the Paralytic

1718-20

Canvas

2'r

Academy

The Holy Family with

1735-40

Canvas

4'3' X 2'5'

Museum

St Gaetan

Academy

The Miracle of Loreto

1743

Oval
canvas

4'rx2'9-

Canvas

l'9'x2'4'

Canvas

5'2- X 7'7'

Canvas

6'6"x4'ir

Jacquemart-Andre

Museum
Venice

Academy

Museum
Venice

Academy

Museum
Venice

Academy

Museum
Venice

Academy

Museum

Venice

Academy

X 1'6'

Museum
Venice

Venice

Museum
Venice

Academy

Museum

Antia and Abrocome at the


Feast of Diana

Venice

Pinacoteca

Portrait of Procurator
Giovanni Querini

Venice

Ca'Rezzonico

Pierrots at Rest

c.

1750

Artist

Vernct. Joseph
(1714-89)

City

Museum

Title

Venice

Ca'Rezzonico

In the Circus

Venice

Ca"Rezzonico

Pierrots in Love

Moscow

Pushkin

Paris

Louvre

Paris

Louvre

Museum

Date

Camp

Materiil

Dimeosioos

Canvas

6-5- X 5-3-

Canvas

6'6'x4'ir

Vigne Pamphili

1749

Canvas

2'6- X 3'4-

View of the Bridge and


Sant'Angelo

1745

Canvas

l'4-x2'6-

Canvas

r4-x2'6-

lui

View of the Remains of the


Palatine Bridge, called
"

Wattcau, Antoine

Ponte Rotto

" in

Rome

Paris

Marine Museum

Fifteen views of French Ports

1753-62

Canvases

Angers

Museum

Rural Concert

1716

Canvas

2'2'xi'8-

Beriin

Kaiser-Frederick

Love

in

French

Comedy

1718-20

Canvas

Vyx vr

Love

in Italian

Comedy

1718-20

Canvas

vyxvr

Canvas

3'8- ^ 5'4-

(1684-1721)

Museum
Beriin

Kaiser-Frederick

Museum
Berlin

Kaiser-Frederick

Assembly

in

a Park

c.

1717

Museum
Beriin

Kaiser-Frederick

L'Enseigne de Gersaint

1720

Canvas

60'

X 10

Museum
Chantilly

Conde Museum

Pastoral Pleasure

1712

Wood

10'

Chantilly

Conde Museum

Le Donneur de Serenades

1712

Canvas

9'x7'

Chantilly

Conde Museum

The Anxious Lover

Wood

9'x7-

Dresden

Museum

The Feast of Love

1717-18

Canvas

l'9-x2'6'

Edinburgh

National Gallery

The Sparrow's Nester

1715

Wood

3'3' X 2'7'

Edinburgh

National Gallery

Venetian Festivals

1719

Canvas

rio'x

Helsinki

Museum

The Suing

1712

Canvas

2'9- X 2'5'

Leningrad

Hermitage

Le Camp volant

1710

Canvas

ri'x

Leningrad

Hermitage

The Hall

1712-15

Canvas

9-xn-

Leningrad

Hermitage

Landscape nith Waterfall

1714-15

Canvas

2'4' X 3'6'

Leningrad

Hermitage

The Embarrassing Proposal

1716

Canvas

2-2- y 2'9'

Leningrad

Hermitage

Return from the Ball

1712-15

Wood

8'x 10'

Leningrad

Hermitage

Rest during the Flight

1717-19

Canvas

4'3' X 3'2*

in

rs'

1-6'

1'5'

Egypt

London

Dulwich College

Pleasures of the Ball

1719

Canvas

8-X20'

London

National Gallery

The Gamut of Love

1716

Canvas

8'x

I'll'

City

Museum

Title

Date

Material

Dimeasions

Madrid

National Palace

The Shy Lover

1716

Canvas

1'4-x 11-

Madrid

National Palace

The Singing Lesson

1716

Canvas

1'4-x

IT

Madrid

Prado

The Marriage Contract

Canvas

1'7'x

no-

New York

Metropolitan

Mezzetin

1719

Canvas

nO'x

French Players

1720

Canvas

riO'x2'5-

1712

Canvas

8''x9-

1'5'

Museum

New York

Metropolitan

Museum
Orleans

Museum

Le Singe Sculpteur

Paris

Louvre

L Indifferent

Wood

10' X 8'

Paris

Louvre

La

Wood

10" X 8'

Paris

Louvre

Gilles

1719

Canvas

6'0"x4'ir

Paris

Louvre

Jupiter

1716

Canvas

2'4" X 3'7'

Paris

Louvre

The Faux Pas

1717-18

Canvas

l'8"x i'4'

Paris

Louvre

Assembly

1717-18

Wood

IT

Paris

Louvre

Embarkation for the Island


of Cythera

1718

Canvas

A'l" X 6'4'

Paris

Louvre

The Judgement of Paris

1720

Wood

l'7"x I'O'

Potsdam

New

Palace

The Shepherds

Canvas

ri0"x2'8'

Potsdam

New

Palace

The Dance

1720

Canvas

3'2" X

Potsdam

New

Palace

Rustic Love

1718

Canvas

n0"x2'8'

Potsdam

Sans Souci

The Concert

1717

Canvas

2'2' X 3'0'

Potsdam

Castle

Italian Recreation

Canvas

2'6'x3T

Valenciennes

Museum

Portrait of Antoine Pater

1716

Canvas

2'7' X 2'0'

Washington

National Gallery

Italian Actors

1720

Canvas

2'3' X 2'8'

Finette

and Antiope

in

a Park

r6-

yr

Principal Exhibitions

Boucher
1723
1

734

1742
1745
1747
1750
1753

1746

Place Dauphine.
Academy Rinald and Armida.
Salon: The Hermit, or Brother Luce.
Salon: First exhibition
sale of red chalks.
Salon: Rape of Europa; Forge of Vulcan.
Salon: Nativity.
Salon: Thetis: Sunshine.

1767
1770

1752
765
1767

Romain.

1747

Versailles: Portrait of the

1748

apartments.
Salon: Portraits of Louis XV, Maria
Leczinska, the Dauphin, Marshal

Mondonville.

Academy: Jeroboam Sacrificing


Salon Coresus and Callirhoe.

Queen

in the royal

Belle-Isle, Marshal de Lowendal


and Marshal de Saxe.
Salon: Portraits of Monsieur and

de

1753
1755
1757
1768

Madame

de la Reyniere; self-portrait.
Salon: Portraits of d'Alembert,
Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Manelli.
Salon: Portrait of Madame de Pompadour.
Salon: Portrait of Marie Fel.
Salon: Portraits of Monsieur and
Madame Restout.

Nattier

1725
1748
to the Idols.

Place Dauphine.
Salon: Portraits of the Queen,
of Madame Sophie holding her veil, and
of Madame Louise holding flowers.

Salon: First erotic painting.

Oudry
1708

1768
1783

Royal Academy: First showing.


Royal Academy: Portraits of the

1784
1789

Schombert House.
Schombert House: Posthumous Exhibition

Royal

Family.

in

Retrospect.

St

Luke Academy: Saint Jerome.

Robert

1771

Salon View of the Port of Ripetta in Rome.


Salon: Drawings of Italian monuments.

1783
1784

Salon: Fire at the Opera Theatre.


Salon: The Ancient Portico of

1785
1787

Salon: The Portico ofOctavius in Rome.


Salon: The Triumphal Arch in Orange;
The Maison Carree and the Arena of Nimes.
Salon: The Antique Temple transformed
into a Dovecote.

767

Marcus
Greuze
1755
1757

Sa\on. Reading the Bible.


Salon: Oiseleur qui, au retour de la chasse,
accorde sa guitare; La Paresseuse Italienne;
L'CEufcasse; Une jeune Italienne congediant
avec un gesle napolitain un cavalier portugais
travesli.

Vemet

1761

Salon: L'Accordeede Village.


Salon: Portrait of the engraver Wille.
Academy: The Emperor Severus reproaching

1743
1747
1748

Caracalla.
1808

le

Salon: Portrait of Jean-Joseph Cassanea de

Gainsborough

1765
1769

Dumont

1747

1751

Place Dauphine: Le Buffet; La Raie.


Salon The Laundress.
Ssi\on: Girl Peeling Vegetables.
Salon: Grace.
Salon: Still-lifes.
Salon: Still-lifes.
Salon: Attributes of Science; Attributes of the
Arts; Attributes of Music; Basket of Plums.
Salon: Still-lifes.
Salon: Pastels.

Fragonard

Portrait of Restout;

portrait of

Chardin
1728
1 737
1739
1746
1759
1763
1765

Academy:

Posthumous
St

Mary

1789

of

the

painting

Luke Academy.

1753
1755

Salon: Two marine views.


Salon: Moonlight; A Fire.
Salon: Italian landscapes.
Salon: The Ports of France.
Salon: Vien of the Port of Dieppe;

1763

Salon: View of Rochefori;

1751

exhibition
the Egyptian.

St

Aurelius.

View of Marseilles.
Lancret
1738

View of La Rochelle.

Salon: Winter.

La Tour
1737

Salon: Portrait of

Watteau

Madame Frangois Boucher;

1709

1741

1745

144

Salon: Portrait of President de Rieux; portrait of Mademoiselle Salle.


Salon: Portraits of Louis XV, the Dauphin,
Duval de I'Epinoy and of Orry de Vignory.

Academy: David accordant

le pardon de
apporic des vivres.
Academy: Retour de Campagne; Halle

\obal a Abigail qui

self-portrait.

1712

d'Armec;
1717

lui

Jalou.x.

Academy: Embarkation for


of Cythera.

the Island

Dictionary

Maurice Quentin dc La Tour


D'Alemherl
Paris.

Louvre

^
Aberii,

tion

of the Jesuits (1165) and Miscellany of

Philosophy, History and Literature (1783).

He

Johann Ludwig (1725-86)

contributed,

"Preliminary
Swiss

artist,

painter and engraver. Born at

Winterthur, died in Berne. Aberli, a pupil

of Felix Meyer,

is

known

mountain landscape, often imitated since. The Berne

"Geneva" and

artist's

works.
called

Rond

work
d') (1717-83)

among
le

D'Alembert, French writer, philosopher

and mathematician, natural son of Madame de Tencin, was born and died in
Paris. After brilliant studies, was made a

member of the Academy of Sciences when


only twenty-three.

article

on mathematics

Algarotti, Francois (1712-64)

died in Pisa.

Alembert (Jean Le

articles

the

and physics.

Italian critic

has several of this

Encyclopaedia

made

the originator of the

museum

the

for his Swiss

landscapes executed in a style that

him

for

Discourse",

and

poet, born in Venice,

Was a

friend of Voltaire,

who

him "The Swan of Padua". His


on dissemination of knowledge
the masses,

Newtonianismo per

//

Dame (Newtonianism

for

Women), was

He

a great success in the period.

also

wrote the interesting Letters on Painting.

Amigoni, Jacopo (1675-1752)

D'Alembert was an

important collaborator

Encyclopae-

Venetian painter and engraver. Amigoni

and took the idea of it into the salons


of the Academy, which accepted it in
the author of these scientific

was influenced by Ricci and Solimena. He


went to work in Bavaria in the castles of
Schlessheim and Nymphenburg. where he

works: Report on the Destruc-

painted ceilings. In 1729 he travelled to

in the

dia

1754.

and

He was

literary

London, where he painted numerous portraits.

He

returned to Venice

in

Ferdinand invited him to Madrid

in

1739.

l747

and he stayed there until his death, having


worked on decoration of the palaces of
Aranjuez and Bien Retiro.

Angeli,

Giuseppe

Born and died

{c.

in

709-98)

Venice, pupil of Piaz-

zetta, Angeli was an historical painter and

He also decorated
monuments in Venice, Padua and Rovigo.
His chief work was the cupola of San

decorator of furniture.

146

Rocco

in

Venice.

"

Aved
Portrait of Jean-Philippe

Dijon

good number of young


among them Watteau. He took

ship at the palace a

Antropov, Alexis (1716-95)

artists,

From

the age of sixteen

Antropov worked

under Russian and foreign masters, parLouis Caravaque.

ticularly

Rameau

Museum

He

collabo-

rated in the painting of the Anitschkoff

new Opera. The Leningrad


and Moscow museums have some of his

part in decorating the royal residences of

Meudon, La Muette, Marly and


sailles

the Ver-

Menagerie. These works have not

survived.

Palace and the

Aved

The Batavian) (1702-66)

(called

works.

Asam (The Brothers)


Cosmas Damian (1686-1739)
EgidQuirin (1692-1750)

The Asam brothers were the first architects of the Rococo style churches of

From

Bavaria.
in

Rome

1712 to 1714 they studied

where Egid Quirin was

influ-

enced by Bernin.

He began working

Germany

Their talents were divi-

in 1720.

in

ded particularly between the fresco (Cos-

mas Damian) and


Notable among

sculpture (Egid Quirin).

their

work

is

the church at

Weltenburg with a statue of St George

Dragon and a very beautiful


of
bust
Cosmas as a Cherub by his brother.
Osterhofen and Straubing were among
their
later
masterpieces.
In Munich,

Aved was

slaying the

alongside the church of Saint-John Nepo-

muk which

they built, stands the celebrated " House of the Asam Brothers
(1733-46), one of the

major monuments of

German Rococo where


the

fa(;ade

interior of a

is

treated

church or a

bom

at

Van Loo and Chardin. In 1734 he


entered the Academy where he had exhi-

Carle

bited portraits of Jean-Frangois de

the decoration of
like

that

of the

and de Caze. He showed works

Salons of 1737 to 1759. In 1744 he became

in Paris;

Louis

son of the

Germain Audran. Appointed


comptroller of the Palace of Luxemburg
engraver

in 1704,

Troy

at the

castle.

Audran, Claude (1658-1734)

Lyons, died

appren-

in Amsterdam. In 1721 he went to Paris


and took lessons from the portrait painter
Belle; he was joined by his contemporaries

became

in

first

ticeship in the studio of Frangois Boitard

counsellor to the

Born

Douai, and after the

death of his father served his

he fostered through his steward-

XV

Academy and

Pensioner.

a
in

1744

painter to

the

reputation

with

His

won him

in

1764

Portrait

of

the

of

title

made his
of Mehemed

King, but he

Ejfendi (Versailles

Portrait

Museum), which he
Aved died in Paris

exhibited at the Salon.


in 1766.

147

Pompco
Piirlrail

Batoni

Joseph Season

11/

Dublin, Irish National

Museum

^
Baccarelli,

Vincenzo (1672-1745)

Florentine

painter,

pupil

of Pietro da

Cortona and of Gherardini. Summoned


to

the court of Saxony, he introduced

there decorative painting in the style of

Cortona. Most of his works are to be

found

in

Balestra,

Florence and Leghorn.

Antonio (1666-1740)

painter and engraver, born and

Italian

Batoni,

Pompeo Girolamo

Italian

painter,

(1708-87)

died in Verona, where he began his apprenticeship in the studio of Giovanni


Zeffio.

the

He worked

in Venice,

studio of Antonio

Bologna

(in

and

in

Belluci)

Rome (in the studio of Carlo Maratta).


He painted a large number of works for

Rome. Son of

Vicenza, Padua,

Brescia,

Bergamo and

Cremona. But the great merit of

this

painter consists in having shaped such


artists as Mariotti,

Nogari and Rosalba

at

Lucca, died

in

a jeweller, he began his

apprenticeship in his father's works but


learned the art of the miniature at the
studio of Sebastian

Conca

in

Naples.

He

Raphael and the ancients. His

studied
the churches of Venice, as well as those of

born

highly successful
are characteristic of the reversion
paintings

in their

day

to the

ancients at the end of the 18th century.

The church of
of Evora

in

Estrella

and the cathedral

Portugal contain some of his

Carriera.

works.

Baudouin, Pierre-Antoine (1723-69)

Bar (Bonaventure de) (1700-29)


French
Parisian
Halle.

painter,

Was

pupil

of Claude-Guy

admitted to the

Academy

in

1728. Fell under the influence of Watteau


and became one of his followers, as shown
by the painting which gained him entry to

the

Academy: Fete Champetrc (Country


work is to be found today

Festival). This

148

in the

Louvre.

artist

and painter, born and died

Baudouin was the pupil of


Boucher, whose younger daughter MaricEmilie he married in 1758. Through his
in

Paris.

father's influence he

Academy
his

in

was accepted

into the

1763 with the presentation of

miniature Plirync ami the Acropai^us. a

work

that

summed up

which today

is

in the

his artistic taste

Louvre. The

and

artist

Jcan-Marc Nattier
Bi'uumarihai.s

was sharply

criticised

far.

He showed,

his

in

pushed the boldness of

time and

his subjects too

as did Boucher, an insuffi-

ciency in drawing and took the

same pains

to pander to the tastes of the day. Grimm


was one of his most severe critics, saying:
" Baudouin has made himself a petty type,
lascivious and dishonest, with a strong

Academy

the

in 1788.

Bayeu painted

fres-

coes at the royal palace in Madrid, at

Aranjuez, San Ildefonso and

in the

Prado:

he carried out the decoration of the clois-

of Toledo Cathedral as well as that of

ters

the

Madona

has a large

del Pilar.

The Prado Museum

number of his works.

appeal to our libertine youth." But despite criticisms also

by Diderot and the

Archbishop of Paris, who forced the with-

Beaumarchais (Pierre-Augustin Caron de)


(1732-99)

drawal of some of his works from the


Salon

in

1765,

Baudouin none the

less

remained one of the 18th-century painters

Many

French writer, born and died

in Paris.

works have been reproduced as engrav-

Caron added Beaumarchais to


when he married a woman from

ings.

nobility.

with the greatest vogue.

of his

as

shown

his

Baumgartner, Johann Wolfgang (1712-61)


Kufstein (Tyrol), died at Augs-

at

He had
in his

his

name

the lesser

a keen sense of business,

Memoirs

(1774-5).

Among

dramatic works, those at the beginning

and the end may be disregarded; what was

new

Bom

Son

of a King's watchmaker, Pierre-Augustin

theatrically in

Beaumarchais was the

introduction of political and social satire,

burg. Baumgartner

as in the Barber of Seville

and the Mar-

scapes,

riage of Figaro.

was the

role of Figaro

was a painter of landarchitecture and frescoes. He was

responsible
offices

the

for

decoration

of the

that

really

It

established

Beaumarchais.

of Cardinal de Rodt at Meersburg,

as well as frescoes for the churches of

Gersthofen and Eggenhausen, near Augsburg.

Bayeu y Subias, Francisco

Bom

in

cisco

Bayeu was

734-95)

Saragosa, died in Madrid. Frana pupil of

Antonio Gon-

zalez-Velasquez in Madrid. At the request

of Raphael Mengs he undertook the decoration of the


In

1764,

as

new

royal palace in Madrid.

King's painter,

Goya, who became


around 1775.

his

A member

he taught

brother-in-law

of the San Fer-

nando Academy, he became the doyen of

149

Bernardo Bcllotto (called Canalctto)


JesuA Driving the Moneychangers from the Temple

Warsaw Museum

There

much

is

his gaiety

is

Hfe in his comedies but

tinged with bitterness.

and pupil of Antonio Canal, also


Canaletto.
the

very difficult to distinguish

works of these two Venetian

tists.

Beaumont, Claude-Franpois (1694-1766)

It is

from

in

Montpelier;

Turin of a family

Charles-Emmanuel

was a pupil

Bellotto

Guardi.

spirit

took him

made

several years in

King and a Cheva-

in his uncle's studio,

where he met Pietro Longhi and Francesco

principal painter to the

adventurous

Bellotto's

his early twenties to

in

He

Verona, Pavia, Turin and Milan.

spent

England under the patron-

age of Horace Walpole and then installed

He became

He was an honorary member of the


St Luke Academy in Rome and director
of the Academy of Turin, where he set up
a manufactory of tapestries. He left fres-

himself in Saxony in 1747.

coes and tapestries in the royal palace at

Bellotto spent the last years of his

Turin, particularly scenes from the Story

there.

of Aeneas, in a gallery which bears his


name. He also painted altars in churches

great

lier.

in

the

to

known by the same


From the age of fifteen

point where both are

awarded him a grant which allowed him


to study in Rome from 1716 to 1719. He
pursued his career in Italy where he was
court painter in 1727, then became

portrai-

They have been confused

name, Canaletto.

Beaumont was born

called

King's painter to August

King

Dresden.

III in

him to
of court painter and

Stanislas Poniatowski took

Warsaw

with the

title

The Dresden Museum

many of his

views of the

still

life

has a

city.

and around Turin.


Bencovich, Federico

(c.

1670-after 1740)

Dalmatian painter, died


Bellotto,

Bernardo

in Gorizia.

(called Canaletto)

worked

as a teacher Carlo Cignani;

(1724-80)
Italy,

Italian

painter

Venice, died in

and engraver, bom in


Warsaw. He was nephew

Germany and

from 1700

to 1740.

Had
in

particularly Vienna

He

is

known

for his

St Peter of Pisa (Saint-Sebastian, Venice)

and a St Andrew (Santa Maria

di

Piombo.

Bologna).

Benefial,

Marco (1684-1764)

Italian painter,

He was
in

bom

a pupil of

1698. In 1718

and died

in

Rome.

Bonaventura Lamberti

Pope Clement XI com-

missioned him to carry out decorative

work in
ran and

Saint-Peter's in

Rome, which

in

won him admission to the St Luke


Academy. Raphael Mengs was his pupil.
1746

150

the churches of Saint-John Late-

William Blake

Good and

Evil Anju'ls Struggling for

Possession of a Child

London, Tate Gallery

Bigari, Vittorio (1692-1776)

Berkeley, George (1685-1753)

born

Irish philosopher,
in

Kilkenny, died

in

known

Oxford, best

the

as

author

Historical painter, born at Bologna; be-

came something of

of Treatise coneerning the Principles of

lifetime.

Human

his

Behaviour and Dialogue between

Hylas and Philonous.

He

fought disbelief

and materialism, trying

resolve

to

the

outside world in terms of pure, eternal


ideas originating

from

and divine

idealistic

a celebrity during his

Several Bologna churches have

works,

notably

church of Our

Virgin

the

in

the

Lady of Succour. He

directed a painting school in his native


city

and had among

his pupils his

own

three sons.

knowledge.
Bigee, Charles

Painter of flowers,

Beschey, Balthasar (1708-76)

bom at

Malines, work-

ing in the 18th century.


Historical

painter

and

portraitist

from

Antwerp. Studied under Pierre Strick and


painted landscapes in the style of Bruegel.

Blake, William (1757-1827)

number of his works are to be


found in museums at Wurzburg, Dessau,
Mannheim, Potsdam and Liechtenstein.
He was a director of the St Luke Academy
in Antwerp and died in that city.
great

Bibiena, Giuseppe Galli (1696-1756)

painter

Italian

and

born

architect,

at

Son and pupil of


Ferdinando Bibiena, he was installed with

Parma, died

in Berlin.

his father in the court

From

1717

father.

He was

for the

onwards

of Vienna
he

in 1712.

his

of his

responsible, with others,

stories

replaced

new Dresden Opera and other

decorative

works

in

Munich,

Prague,

Berlin.

He

also carried out the decoration of the

new

Linz,

Venice, Stuttgart and

Bayreuth

Blake was

Theatre.

Several

European

museums, Vienna, Munich and Dresden,


have drawings by

this artist.

bom

London;
ordinary life and
in

little is

the

known

preferred

were those which attributed to

this

visionary poet and painter a suggestion of

madness. (The originality of

his

nature

him the soubriquet of " Mad


Blake".) The solicitude of a father of
modest origins (he was a hosier) and his
exceptional gifts in poetry and drawing
won him an apprenticeship at the age of

earned

151

Francois Boucher
Portrait of Watteau

Condc Museum

Chanlilly,

fourteen with an engraver.


art,

experiencing real

He

lived off his

discour-

difficulties,

aging buyers with the fantastic nature of


his

His

compositions.

Catherine

wife,

in

1703 was a teacher in the same

was

city.

He

employed on painting
flowers and fruit in the works of his
principally

contemporaries.

Bouchez, helped him until she died, sus-

him

taining

everywhere

in a difficult livelihood.
in his

long figures of

work, even

She

among

is

his

Boucher, Francois (1703-70)

women.

Blake invented a colour engraving process


his

which he used for the

He

poems.

illustration of

Young's

also illustrated

Nights in 1797, the Divine Comedy,

etc.

His drawings and paintings are conserved


in

the

Among

National
his lyrical

Gallery

in

London.

works must be

listed:

Songs of Innocence (1789) and Songs of


Experience

(1794);

among

his

fantasy

The Book of Thel (1789), The


Marriage of Heaven and Hell (1790) and
Europe (1194).
narratives:

.'i^

Bonito, Giuseppe (1705-89)

Italian painter

and engraver, born and

died at Castellamare.

Was

Francesco Solimena, whose


tated.

During

his lifetime

Naples.

His father designed patterns and

he imi-

made

prints for embroidery. Frangois at

style

he enjoyed a

and

Bonito worked at the court of

The

in

Paris.

great reputation as historical painter


portraitist.

Frangois Boucher was born and died

the pupil of

royal palace of Naples has

two groups of portraits by him, those of


The Ambassadors of Turkey and The
Ambassadors of Tripoli; the Prado has a
copy of the former.

studied under his father, then under

first

Lemoine, whose
imitating

style

perfectly.

At

he succeeded
17

he

in

finished

Judgement of Susanna,
Lemoine overwhelmed at

his first picture.

which

left

the early development of his pupil. Three

months

later

Boucher was a pupil of the

engraver Cars. There again he showed


such ability that Julienne commissioned

him
Bosschaert, Jean-Baptiste (1667-1746)

for

reproduce the works of Watteau

to

an average 24 a day. In 1723

Evilmcrodach dclivrant Joachim

152

his

won him

Floral painter, born

the

in 1685 he

as the

prize at the Academy. His works,


custom of the day permitted, were

hung

in

and died in Antwerp.


was a pupil of Jean-Baptiste
Crepu, painter of flowers, in Antwerp and

first

the Place

Dauphine along

the

Carmonicllc

Monsieur de Buffon
Chantilly,

route of the Corpus Christi procession.


They were noticed and from then on
Boucher was known. He reahsed his
dream of perfecting his art in Italy and left
for Rome with Carle Van Loo. During
this stay, from 1727 to 1731, he painted
religious or historical subjects. But it was
Venus commandant des Armes a Vulcain
pour Enee that established Boucher as a
painter of elegant mythology. About the
same time he interrupted his painting to
illustrate Moliere and La Fontaine. In
1734 he was received into the Academy

where he had presented Rinaldo and A r mida.

1733

April

In

he married

Marie-

who

Jeanne Buzot, a pretty Parisienne

became

his favourite

From

model.

From

1744 to 1748, as chief decorator to the

Royal Academy of Music, he painted


canvases generally on bucolic subjects.

From

Salons; in 1745 he exhibited and success-

drawings and red chalks. In

1752 the patronage of the Marquis de

Marigny secured him a pension and lodgThree years

The

it was no longer
was melting away but
something more personal, a family and

in

1769 were hard blows;

just his glory that

pupils.

Boyne, John

Irish painter,
in

London.

(r.

1750-1810)

bom

in

County Down, died


water-colour

Caricaturist,

painter and engraver, he

was a pupil of the

engraver Byrne.

He exhibited

Academy from

1788 to 1809.

at the

Royal

Buffon (Georges-Louis Leclerc, Count of)


(1707-88)

French writer and

later

naturalist,

Montbard. He succeeded
scientific

ings at the Louvre.

Boucher

deaths of Deshays in 1765 and Baudouin

1740 he showed his canvases at the

fully sold his

Salons.

his

in

is

extraordinarily varied: he decorated inte-

ceramics and so on.

Boucher

resigned himself to a changing world.

this

period onwards the art of Boucher

riors, furniture,

flayed

Conde Museum

born

at

in putting the

knowledge of the day within

reach of the masses.

He was

the author of

Natural History and Epochs of Nature.

was received

into the

He

French Academy

in

1753.

he

succeeded Oudry as deputy inspector of


the Gobelins Manufactory; in

765 he was

appointed principal painter to the King.

From

this

moment, however,

his-

renown,

which had been established before he won


this

coveted

title

(the protection of

dame de Pompadour,

in particular,

secured him a pension and a great

Mahad

number

of official commissions) began a noticeable


decline.

His

nomination

painter in fact

change

in

Greuze had

art
all

as

principal

was accompanied by
fashion.

From

then

the esteem of Diderot,

..^

on

who

153

Rosalba

Camera

Self-portrait

Venice,

-H

passed his

life

there,

working

at the court

of St Petersburg, where he carried out

Canal, Antonio (called Canaletto)

several portraits of Peter the Great

(1697-1768)

other

Canaletto was born

in

gave him his

first

went to study
to have

in

members of

and

the Tsar's family.

Venice where his

Bernardo Canal,

father, theatre decorator

instruction. In 1719 he

Carlevaris,

Luca (1665-1731)

Rome, where he appears

known Giovanni

Battista Panini.

Italian

painter

bom

and engraver,

in

After two years he returned to Venice

Udine, died

where Carlevaris and Ricci were then the

and also Luca da Ca'Zenobio (because he


was the protege of the Zenobio family).

masters of landscape painting.

Despite

such competition he quickly succeeded

in

making his own talent felt and rapidly


became acknowledged as the premier
landscape painter of Venice. At the same
time his contemporaries Tiepolo and
Longhi were stepping into fame, one as a
and the other as a painter of

fresco painter

everyday patrician

became involved
ish consul,
ally

no

J.

life.

with the Brit-

Smith, and, receiving virtu-

profit

from Smith's

sale

of his

England, went to London

in

himself

1746 and remained there for

in

He was in Munich about 1748


and summoned his nephew Bernardo Beltime.

Then about

1751 he

was back

London. In 1756 he returned

to Venice

lotto there.
'in

and stayed there


a

until

he died.

member of the Academy

letto

He became

in 1763.

canvases are to be found

Cana-

in all the

European museums.

Caravaque, Louis (died 1754)

French portrait painter, thought to come

from Marseilles.

In

Casanobrio

in Venice, called

Several works of this landscape and sea-

scape painter remain

in the

museums of

Darmstadt and Dresden.

Carriera, Rosalba (1675-1757)

In 1741 Canaletto

in dealings

engravings

some

154

Academy

1715 he arrived

Russia with several French

artists.

in

He

Italian painter,

born and died

Daughter of a family of

in

artists,

Venice.

Rosalba

learned drawing from her father before

becoming a pupil of Balestra. She devoted


herself to the miniature, an art in

which

then arrived in Dresden, where he spent


six

years.

Back again

she rapidly excelled. She also painted a

accepted by the Royal

on canvas, among them a


Portrait of August III, King of Poland,
who was to play an important role in her
career. While he was passing through

From

number of

Venice

made

oils

Later he went to Vienna

larly at the Salon.

II

in 1763.

onward he showed regu-

to paint a series of

of Catherine

Academy

was

works on the

victories

over the Turks.

1715 the financier Pierre Crozat

in

come

her promise to

went there

to Paris.

1720 and has

in

She
Caylus

a very

left

detailed diary of her stay. She returned to

Venice

that date

Paris he

in

in

Charles VI

1721.

1730 the Emperor

In

summoned

her to Vienna to

1750 she

paint his portrait. In

(Anne-Claude-Philippe de Tubieres,

Count

of) (1692-1765)

French engraver and archaeologist, born

her

lost

and died
sight.

He

Caylus.

Son of the Countess de

in Paris.

took part

in the

Spanish

War

of Succession. After the war he travelled

Carstens,

German

Asmus Jacob

(1754-98)

painter and draughtsman, born

near Schleswig, died in Rome. Began his


apprenticeship,

about

hagen. In 1783 he

Tyrol

1776,

at

for Italy

left

Copenand the

in Italy, Greece and Asia Minor from


whence he brought back archaeological
treasures. Back in France he devoted
himself to engraving. In 1731 he was
received into the Royal Academy of

Painting and Sculpture as honorary adviser; in

1742 he entered the Academic des

The Count

Inscriptions et Belles Lettres.

then

spent

nearly

five

years

at

Lubeck. In 1788 he went to Berlin, where

de Caylus was a great patron of the

arts.

he painted the Chute des Anges (Fall of the

He went back

to Copenhagen but
Rome, where he spent the
remaining years of his life. The Copenhagen Museum, and particularly that of
Weimar, have a number of his works.

Angels).
left

Ceruti,

again for

Giacomo

(active

about

750)

Painter in the Italian style, born in Milan

or Brescia,

dubbed

Little Beggar).

We

"

II

Pitocchetto " (The

have

little

information

on his life. He worked in Milan, Brescia


and Padua. The Milan Pinacoteca has
Casanova, Francois

Italian painter,

Bruhl.

Was

Francesco

born

the

several of his portraits

727- 1 802)

in

pupil

Simonini

several years' study he

London, died at
of Guardi and

Chardin,

and

still-lifes.

Jean-Baptiste-Simeon

(1699-

1779)
in

Venice.

began to

After

travel

he

stayed for a year in Paris (about 1751)

Chardin was
the

bom

Rue de Seine

29

November 1699

in Paris.

in

His father, a

155

"

Chardin
Sealed Witman Knilfing
Paris, tcole dcs

Bcaux-Arls

cabinet-maker, entered him at the age of

painting in

the

nineteen into the studio of the painter

never working on more than one canvas at

His sojourn with

Pierre-Jacques Cazes.

Cazes had a certain importance for Chardin for

was there that he developed a


Dutch and Flemish painting. He

it

taste for

became
Baptiste

of Nicolas Coypel.

later the pupil

employed

1728,

In

Van Loo to

Primaticcio

at

helper by Jean-

as

restore the frescoes of

Chardin

Fontainebleau,

When

painted a signboard for a surgeon.

was noticed and the


attention of the Academy was drawn to
the artist. In the same year he hung several
paintings in the Place Dauphine, among
it

was put

in place

it

a time

same painstaking way,

and ignorant of riches that painting

so intimate

and subdued as

received at the Louvre in 1757 he con-

tinued

to

people.

Towards

associate

1770, his sight,

him from using


set

of

now
oil

become

and take

own

his

this period. In

Tm

who was

presented

some time Chardin

still-lifes

Critics of the period

and

interior

found

in his

1f!

jf-

-f-^-!

-, 1

time at the Salon, where he

exactitude in

Venice. Chardin's

Dauphine. In August 1738 he exhibited


first

por-

^""^^iM

^'

continued to hang his work in the Place

for the

Academy.

the post of treasurer of the

wife died in 1735. For

in

1774 he resigned from

a mediocre painter

life in

life

weaker, prevented

of his wife and three self-portraits are

'A

a son, Pierre-Jean,

unassuming

colours any longer: he

of Saint-Sulpice, to Marguerite Saintard.

They had

with

the end of his

himself to paint with pastels.

trait

them the famous Raie Ouverte. Largilliere


noticed the painting. He met the artist and
advised him to present himself to the
Academy. Chardin was accepted in 1728
as " painter of fruits and animals ". Three
years later he was married, at the church

destined to

could not

his

bring him. In spite of accommodation he

scenes.

work an

painting objects (Diderot

even had a good page on the " natural


quality of a misty film
fruit).

around a plate of

But his interior scenes made

less

impression at the time; this kind of paint-

was often classed as " bad taste ".


1744 Chardin married again, to Fran-

Collet,

John (1725-80)

ing then
In

goisc-Marguerite Fouget, a wealthy but


avaricious

woman who seemed

epitome of all the bourgeois


156

his

renown

grew,

to be the

virtues.

Chardin

While

continued

English landscape artist and caricaturist,

born
is

in

London. All

that he

was

that

is

known of him

a pupil of Lambert.

Two

his water-colours are in the Victoria

Albert

Museum

in

London.

of

and

Charles-Antoinc Coypcl
Self-portrait
Paris, National Library

Conca, Sebastiano (1676/80-1764)

born

painter,

Italian

at

Gaeta, died

in

He studied in Naples under Solimena. He left for Rome with his brother
Naples.

Giovanni and stayed there


drawing. After

for

whom

five

worked

painting; he

to perfect his

years he turned to
for

Pope Clement XI

he decorated a church with

work won him


Conca also worked

frescoes. This

Cavaliere.

the

title

of

for foreign

Poland and

princes, in Portugal, Spain,


for the Elector of Cologne.

Condillac (Etienne Bonnot de) (1715-80)

French philosopher, born

He was

in

Grenoble.

a friend of Rousseau and Diderot.

With his Essay on the Origins of Human


Knowledge (1746) and his Treatise on

demy. In 1681 he was approved by the

Sensationism (1754), he defined a theory

decoration of the Church of the Assump-

of empirical sensationism

tion and decorated a pavilion for the


Grande Mademoiselle. The Duke of Orleans engaged him as principal painter.
The Regent, who once was his pupil,
established him as principal painter to the

As

disciple

in

knowledge.

of Locke he considered

sensation to be the origin and basic principle

of knowledge. This regularisation of

the principle of

knowledge by empirical

Academy of

Paris; he collaborated in the

sensationism was widely believed during

King.

He

the 18th century.

works

for the

then carried out a series of

Chateau of Meudon, the

Palais Royal, decorated the house of Car-

dinal

Dubois and,

Versailles Chapel.

French painter and engraver, born and

director of the

been director

in

1709, the vault of

He died in 1722, having


of Crown paintings and
Academy in 1714.

Coypel, Antoine (1661-1722)

died in Paris. At the age of eleven he was


sent to Italy

by Colbert with

his father,

Noel Coypel, then a celebrated painter

Coypel, Charles-Antoine (1694-1752)

who was going back to his post as director


of the French Academy in Rome. Bernini

French painter and engraver, born and

became

died in Paris. Son of Antoine Coypel.

young Antoine,
who remained in Italy for three years and
rose to be laureate of the St Luke Acainterested in the

the death of his father in

appointed director of

On

1722 he was

Crown

paintings

57

and premier painter to the Duke of Orleans, posts which his father had held. In
1747 he was appointed principal painter
to the King and director of the Academy.
His works are in the Louvre and in the
museums of Besangon and Nantes. Charles-Antoine Coypel was also a remarkable
literary

man.

because of his predilection for Spanish

Was

costume.

pupil

the

of Domenico

Canuti and Carlo Cignani; Crespi im-

proved

his

work

particularly in copying

of

paintings

the

Carrachi,

Guerchin,

Baroccio, the Venetian masters and Cor-

He

reggio.

painted mythological and

reli-

gious portraits and stylised subjects.

He

taught Piazzetta and Pietro Longhi.

Coypel, Noel-Nicholas (1690-1734)

French painter and engraver, born and


died in Paris.

He was

Creti,

Donato (1671-1749)

the pupil of his

Noel Coypel, and his mother Frangoise Perrin. While still quite young he
painted two pictures for the church of

in

Saint-Nicholas du Chardonnet in Paris.

churches

father,

But Noel-Nicholas
mythological

is

best

paintings,

known for his


among which

should be mentioned Triumph of Galatea,

Venus and

He was

Amor and Diana

received

into

the

at the Bath.

Academy

Italian painter,

known

Cremona, died

pupil

in

of Pisanelli

as Donatino,

bom

Was

Bologna.

and worked

the
the

in

of Rimini, Bergamo, Lucca


and Palermo; the Bologna Gallery has his

Coronation of Charles

For

at Bologna.

the Public Palace he painted

works

in-

spired by scenes from the Life of Achilles.

in

1720.

Crome, John (1768-1821)

Cozens, Alexandre
(beg. 18th century- 1786)

English painter and engraver called " Old

Born in Russia, died in London, Cozens


was the natural son of Peter the Great and
an English

girl,

which explains why

work shows some

He

Crome", born and died

From

to live in

Norwich.

modest family, Crome had

culties at the

beginning of his career.

diffi-

He set

his

traces of Slav influence.

up

in his native city

London where he remained

Between 1769 and 1781 his


works were shown at the Free Society of
until his death.

Arts and the Royal Academy.

Crespi, Giuseppe Maria (1665-1747)

a school of painting

which was successful enough to allow him

studied painting in Italy. In 1746 he

went

in

to live

by

his art.

From

1805 he organised

Norwich Society of
Artists, which became an important landscape school. From 1806 onwards he
exhibited regularly at the Royal Academy.
In 1814 he travelled through Belgium and
exhibitions of the

France.

He

carried out a series of engrav-

ings which were gathered together after


Ilalian

5S

painter and engraver, born and

died in Bologna, called

"The Spaniard"

his

death under the

Norfolk scenery

".

title

of " Picturesque

Jacques-Louis David

Head
Paris, Ecole des

Beaux-Arts

Defoe, Daniel

1660-1731)

(r.

English author, born in London; he wrote

David, Jacques-Louis (1748-1825)

the world-famed story of castaway adven-

and Adventures of Robinson


Crusoe (1719) and several pamphlets. His

ture The Life

novel Moll Flanders dates from

722.

Deshays, Jean-Baptiste Henri (1729-65)

French painter, born near Rouen, died


Paris.

Was

in

the pupil of his father,

first

Van Loo

then of Colin de Vermont, Carle

and of Francois Boucher, whose elder


daughter he married
religious

and elegant

the

prize in

first

admitted to the

Painted

1758.

in

Winner of
1751, he was

subjects.

Rome

in

Academy

in 1759. In

he was named deputy-professor.

1760

He

ex-

hibited with success in the Salons of 1759,

French painter, born


Brussels. In 1769 he

Vien and two years


prize in

Paris,

in

became
later

Rome. He took

died in

the pupil of

won

the second

the first prize in

1774 with The Loves of Antiochus and


Stratonic.

He went

and stayed there

to

until

Rome

with Vien

he

reigned

David as principal
official

named

Emperor,

as

painter.

But the post of

him

to lose a great

painter caused

deal of his personality.

On

the

fall

of the

Empire he exiled himself to Belgium and


settled

in

Brussels.

cold and the


antiquity

and

1763. Diderot

saw him as a pupil

the influences of his masters.

Boucher,

example,

as, for

tected by Vulcan

Van Loo and

in Achilles pro-

and Juno, which

is

in the

Louvre.

1780. In 1783 he

was made a member of the Academy. He


became acquainted with Napoleon who,
while

1761

of Le Sueur, but his works show clearly

David's painting

movement of

is

the revival of

which he created

is

of

little

Alexandre-Francois

Desportes,

(1661-

1743)

Son of a farmer
went

in

Champagne, Desportes

was a pupil of the Antwerp painter


Nicaise Bernard. He worked with Claude
Audran on the decoration of the Chateau
d'Anet and some decor in the theatre and

was he who began to react


against the mannered art of the 18th cen-

the Menagerie at Versailles. In 1695 he


for Poland,

summoned by King

tury; he exerted a strong influence during

and became

official portrait

interest.

the

first

But

it

half of the 19th century.

He

to Paris at the age of thirteen.

Polish court.

On

left

Sobieski,

painter to the

his return to

France

in

59

Carle

Van Loo

Diderot

Museum

Langres

named Hunting

1696 he was

Painter to

Salons for the Correspondance Litteraire.

Academy

Diderot was already familiar with the

Louis XIV, was admitted to the


in

1699 and given the

title

of adviser

voyage to England

1704. After a

in

1712

in

worked on the decoration of the

he

problems of aesthetics:
edited the article "

paedia;

Beau

moreover,

1751

he had

" for the

Encyclo-

in

he

frequented

the

Chantilly and the Hotel Bouillon. In 1735

knew Greuze
and Vernet. He accepted the commission,

he introduced Indian tapestries for the

and from

Chateau de

la

Muette, the Chateau de

He

Gobelins factory.

studios of the painters and

1759

produced the

1781

to

reports which were the origin of art

died in Paris.

cism as we

know

it

criti-

today. In 1760 and

1761 Diderot broke off his

work

as chief

editor of the Encyclopaedia to write two

Diderot, Denis (1713-1784)

Lm Religieuse (The Nun) and


Neveu de Rameau (Rameau's Nephew).

novels,

Diderot was born

in

Langres of a lower

From

middle-class family.

the age of eight

he was taught by Jesuits

town.

He

native

his

in

received a solid education but

it

was at the college of Harcourt in Paris,


where his father took him, that he completed

his

studies.

finished he entered

When

were

these

an attorney's

office,

but

did not stay there long, preferring to lead

an independent

and

life

lectual curiosity.

When

his father cut off

made

allowance Diderot

his

satisfy his intel-

translations

and even wrote sermons. During


he

made

time

this

the acquaintance of d'Alembert,

Rousseau and Condillac. In 1746 he was


presented to the bookseller Le Breton,

who gave him


Encyclopaedia.

the job of directing the

Up

devoted himself to
with his

own

1773

to

Diderot

this task, filling

it

out

personal work, the most

important phases of which came from

this

period. After three months' imprisonment


in the Bastille,

caused by publication of

his Lett re sur les Aveugles (Letter

on the

Blind), Diderot turned his attention to the


theatre.
/'7/.V

Thus he wrote,

in

M/////r/ (Illegitimate

1757 and 1758,

Son) and Pere de

Famille (Father of the Family). In 1759


160

Grimm

asked

him

for

reports

on the

His

multiplied

activity

incessantly;

he

kept up a protracted correspondence with

Sophie Volland, published novels and,


1769, three philosophical

which was Reve de


bert's

in

works among

d" Alemhert

(D'Alem-

Dream), which defined a point of

view of materialist philosophy. In 1773


Catherine

whom

with

II,

touch for a decade,


St Petersburg.

Paradoxe sur

He

le

in

to

stayed there a year. Le

Comedien (Paradox on the

Actor) and Jacques


Fatalist) date

he had been

summoned him

le

Faialiste (James the

from the same

year.

He

Franvois-Hubcrl Drouais
Pclili' Fillc cl

(Little Girl

Grenoble

went back to Paris


a

1774; from then on

in

own

he worked for his

pleasure, enjoying

measure of comfort from the protection

of Catherine

In his last years Diderot

II.

withdrew from

all

activity

literary

and

sa Potipee

and her Doll)

Museum

invitation of Catherine

royal

rated

Paul

who

I,

tion of the

one of the

palaces

II.

There he deco-

until

the

of

time

entrusted to him the decora-

Hermitage Palace. Doyen was


last

representatives of the 18th-

died in 1784 from apoplexy.

century school.

Dighton, Robert (1752-1814)

Drouais, Franpois-Hubert (1727-75)

English portrait painter and caricaturist,


died in London. Sometimes sent his works
to

the

Royal Academy and the Free

Society of Artists, but after the publication of his

A Book of Heads

in

1799

devoted himself almost entirely to caricaturing.

Diziani,

Gasparo (1689-1767)

Italian painter

and

caricaturist,

born

in

Belluno, died in Venice. Studied under

Sebastiano Ricci and Gregorio Lazzarini,


spent

some time

and then

in

settled

Rome and
in

(religiously inspired)

remain

Germany

in

His works

Venice.

Bergamo

in

Doyen, Gabriel-Frangois (1726-1806)


French painter, born

St Petersburg. His father


to the King.

Doyen won

the

Paris,

in

Rome

Van Loo,

prize in 1746

stayed in Italy for nine years.

admitted to the

worked

Academy

in

in Paris.

Qois-Hubert took lessons from his father,

died in

was upholsterer

pupil of Carle

French painter, born and died

Son of a miniaturist and pastel painter,


Hubert Drouais, who was known for his
Portrait de Madame de Pompadour, Fran-

and Venice.

and

He was
1759. He

principally as a decorator: in 1767

from Carle Van Loo, Natoire and Boucher. A protege of Madame du Barry, he

was a
larly

portrait painter of repute, particu-

of children's portraits, during the


of Louis

reign

Academy
he was

XV. Accepted by

in 1755,

the

court painter in 1756,

in turn received into the

Academy,

he painted pictures for the church of

appointed King's painter and to other

Saint-Roch and for the vault of Saint-

members of the

Gregory's Chapel at the Invalides. In 1777

in exhibitions at the

he was appointed chief painter for the

1775.

Count d'Ar-

1763,

Count of Provence and


tois.

In

1789 he

left

the

for

Russia at the

royal family.

He took

Louvre from 1755

His son Jean-Germain,

who

part

born

to
in

died at the age of twenty-five,

was one of the

first

pupils of David.

161

Duplessis, Joseph (1725-1802)

Portrait painter, born at Carpentras, died

His

Versailles.

at

laume Duplessis

up

le

Joseph-Guil-

father,

Vieux,

Encyclopaedia

who had

given

of surgeon, was his

The work of

the Encyclopaedia lay at the

first

very heart of the 18th-century intellectual

under

movement and occupied an important

Imberg and Subleyras. Approved by the

place in the history of thought, though

Academy

less

his profession

Afterwards

teacher.

in 1769,

he

studied

he was admitted

and became adviser

to the

1774

in

Academy

in

important

in the history

Diderot got his

first

of

literature.

idea for the Encyclo-

1780; appointed director of the Versailles

paedia in translating Ephraim Chambers's

became administrator of the


museum that was installed there in 1794.
After becoming court painter, he made
portraits of Louis XVI and most of the

Cyclopaedia from the English for a book-

personalities of the period.

the resume of 18th-century

Gallery, he

know
eight

it

today was published

volumes from 1751

science,

Italian painter,

bom

in

shows a

the

most important contributors were:

this

encyclopaedia.

mathematician;
the

Charles-Emmanuel III of Savoy. It is difficult to say which painter was responsible

century

Domenico

are

known.

in

Among

work of

representing

signed by Giorgio

literature.

the

d'Alembert,

for certain works, but several portraits

is

feeling of scepticism.

his

like

and

knowledge of

brother Giuseppe, painter at the court of

ing studied in

in

Diderot played the most active part

Turin. After hav-

Rome, he was,

it

we

as

twenty-

to 1772

philosophy and

art,

Generally

Dupra, Giorgio Domenico (1689-1770)

Encyclopaedia

Diderot's

seller.

sensual

Farmer-General

theory

treatise

18th-

of knowledge;

Helvetius,

materialism; and the

author of a

Condillac,

most important

of

apostle

German d'Holbach,
on Systcme de

Nature (System of Nature).

Among

la

secon-

dary contributors were Marmontel for

Durameau, Louis-Jean-Jacques

literary

(1733-1796)

Montesquieu,

French painter, born

in

Paris,

died at

Gained second prize in Rome


1756, first in 1757 and was approved by

Versailles.
in

Academy in 1766, then admitted to the


Academy in 1774. Durameau was painter

the

to

the

keeper

King's chamber and offices and

of paintings

authorities.

for

rom 1767

bited at the Salon. His

162

the

Versailles

to 1789 he exhi-

works are

cularly noted for beauty of design.

parti-

subjects,

who

Voltaire,

Buffon

furnished articles.

and

Jean-Honore Fragonard

Woman

Pressing her

Bosom

Bcsan(;on, Fine Arts

Museum

ra

tion.

Fragonard took the

Jeroboam
Fielding,

Henry (1707-54)

sacrifiant

aux

first

prize with

Idoles

(Jeroboam

sacrificing to the Idols). In 1753 he entered

the royal school for aided pupils as a

English writer, born near Glastonbury.


Best known for his earthy novel Tom
Jones: A Foundling, which he wrote in
1749.

boarder. There he painted Psyche, which


was shown to the King in March 1753.
During the same period the Brotherhood
of the Holy Sacrament in Grasse commis-

sioned from him a holy picture: Jesus

washing the Feet of the Disciples. In 1756


Fragonard, Jean-Honore (1732-1806)

the

Marquis de Marigny sent him

Villa Medici. Little

Fragonard was born on


into a

modest family

in

January 1732

Grasse. At the age

known of

first

from Natoire, then director of the French

Rome, gave de Marigny an

in

account of Fragonard's

to the

the

part of his stay there, but in 1758 a letter

Academy

is

talent. In Italy in

Abbe St Non, of whom he


number of portraits. This art

1759 he met the


painted a

lover, himself

nard under

lowed the

an engraver, took Fragopatronage and thus al-

his

artist

Italy. In the

to prolong his stay in

summer of 1760 Fragonard

lived at the Villa d'Este with the

Hubert Robert. Attributed to


is

period

Fragonard's Tall Cypresses of the

d'Este. After a trip to

returned to France in
abbe. In

abbe and

this

March

Villa

Naples Fragonard

May

1761 with the

1765, aspiring to the

title

of King's painter, he submitted Coresus

Himself to Save Callirhoe; it


was accepted. The canvas, bought by de
Marigny, was sent to the Gobelins to be

sacrificing

of

six

he went with his parents to Paris,

his father was to work. While very


young he worked as a clerk in a lawyer's

where

office.

Boucher, to

a pupil, sent

him

whom he was offered

to

as

Chardin but accepted

Fragonard himself six months

later. In his

executed in tapestry. Fragonard obtained


lodgings in the Louvre and, for a reception

piece,

was instructed

ceiling for the

to execute a

Apollo Gallery. Then, too

master's studio, subjected to the sole disci-

busy with commissions that followed the

work, Fragonard studied anato-

success of his Pastorales, he renounced the

pline of

my, perspective and the technique of

light

and shade on engravings by Rembrandt,


Rubens and Tiepolo. In 1752 Boucher
entered his pupil for the

Rome

competi-

and consequently was never admitted to the Academy. In 1767 a painting


inspired by the Journal de Coile won him
project

the reputation of a libertine painter.

Com-

163

missions flowed

Marquis

in,

particularly

from the

Freudenberger, Sigismond (1745-1801)

de St Julien. In 1769 he married

Marie-Anne Gerard, aged seventeen.

In

same year he undertook important


decoration work for Madame du Barry.
Rejected, the work was returned to him
with 8,000 as compensation. In 773, on
the recommendation of the Abbe St Non,
the

Painter and engraver, born and died in

Berne, pupil of Greuze and Boucher


Paris. In 1773 he settled

back

in

in Switzer-

land. Specialised in representing intimate


scenes. His

works remain

Geneva and

in

Neuchatel.

Farmer-General Bergeret de Grancourt


joined

the

Fragonard family

trip

across Italy to Vienna and Dresden.

The

two men did not

get

in

Fragonard had to bring a lawsuit to

Jean-Henri (1741-1825)

Swiss painter, born

in

Zurich, died in

recover from Bergeret the sketches he had

Putney, London. First studied theology

made during

and English

the trip.

Back

in Paris

he

painted Fete de Saint-Cloud (Festival of


St

Cloud) and worked for the actress

Adeline Colombe.
full

It

was then

a period of

prosperity, but before long the Revo-

in

Berlin. After

the

having illustrated some of

works of Shakespeare, he took the

advice of the British

Ambassador

sia,

mising. Returning to Paris he sent his son

mann. He returned
where he exhibited at

Evariste

whom

to

study

under

Fragonard received various

commissions. These he
his death. His

work

lost a

from
official

year before

sold badly but Frago-

nard appeared resigned to

He

David,

this mediocrity.

died on 22 August 1806 from conges-

Frantz,

Sir

land.

Robert Smith, and

go to

Johann Martin

Painter on pottery at Kunersburg, Ger-

many, in the 18th century. Also worked


on the decoration of churches in the
Arnstadt and Eichstaat regions.

to Prus-

visited

Eng-

There he became acquainted with

Reynolds,

who

Italy,

insisted that Fuseli should

where he studied the

and joined Raphael

He was

elected in 1790

the Royal

Academy

Academy.

Academy

and from 1799

professor of painting.

cabal in the

classics

Mengs and Winckelto London in 1779

admitted to the

For

in 1788,

to 1804
six

was

years a

kept him out but

in

1810 he was re-elected and continued to


teach until his death.

tion.

Met

town.

native

his

Lavater and went with him to Vienna and

fame and his fortune.


In 1789 the Fragonard family left for
Grasse, where the painter sold to one of
his relatives for a very low price the
canvases which he regarded as comprolution took both his

164

Fuseli,

on together and

Thomas Gainsborough
Atigusl- Frederick,

Windsor

Castle,

Duke of Sussex

Royal Gallery

Gainsborough,

of the Society of Artists and exhibited

Thomas

(1727-88)

Gainsborough was born


family
father
a

into

was

a tailor.

large
his

He was remembered

mediocre pupil, caring

studies.

Sudbury, Suffolk, where

in

little

About 1742 he went

to

for

as
his

London

in

ers

was one of the foundof the Royal Academy. The number of

his

admirers

London.

In 1768 he

grow, and

in

in

London never ceased

1774 he decided to

settle in

London, where he was undeniably


cess.

During

this

to

a suc-

period there were numer-

ous clashes between Gainsborough and


Reynolds,

whom

of

neither

would

and became the pupil of Gravelot. work-

concede to the other the

on the restoration of paintings of the


Dutch school. Later he entered St Martin's Academy. When he had obtained
enough knowledge, Gainsborough re-

greatest portrait painter. In 1783 Gains-

ing

demy

after

the

at

Aca-

an incident with the hanging

committee, which had refused to hang his

himself up as

Portrait of the Royal Family at the height

and landscapes. At

demanded by the painter; but he did


exhibit once more before his death. In

turned to Sudbury and


painter of portraits

borough ceased exhibiting

of the

title

set

nineteen he married Margaret Burr and

with the

money

to paint

from then on without

she provided he was able

worry. In 1746 he went to

live in

1787 he developed cancer and Reynolds

financial

came

Ipswich,

Gainsborough died the following

and be

to see his old rival

reconciled.
year.

then in 1758 at Bath, where he remained


until

1774.

portraits.

This was the period of his

The

to increase his prices. In

he painted

work led him


the same period

success of his

landscapes which were

appreciated. In 1766 he

became

less

member

Gersaint, Edme-Fran<;ois

Engraver and

(c.

1696-1750)

art dealer in Paris;

close friend of Watteau,

who

him the celebrated signboard now


found

in the Berlin

was a

painted for
to be

Museum.

Ghislandi, Vittore (1655-1743)

Italian portraitist,

and died

born

at

San Leonardo

in Venice, also called

II

Paolotto (Friar Paolotto). Son of an


tic

Frate
artis-

family, he entered a religious order at

an early age and worked


the Galgario order in

at the

Convent of

Bergamo, then

in

Milan. In 1717 he became an honorary

member of

the Clementine

Academy

Bologna. This painter was the

Bergamo school of portraitists.

last

in

of the
165

Tischbcin

Goeihf

in Italy

Frankfurt, Stadclschcs Kunstinstitut

Giaquinto, Corrado

(f.

1690-1765)

burg
Italian painter,

born

and pursued

to 1770

at Molfetta, died in

Naples. Studied under Solimena in Naples

Rome. Became a

his studies in Stras-

until 1771. In Strasburg at this time

he met Herder and took over leadership

of the literary

"

"

move-

in Alsace,

where

Sturm und Drang

and Sebastiano Conca


member of the St Luke Academy in 1735.
Is known to have worked for King Ferdi-

he was gathering popular songs, he met a

nand VI of Spain

his finest lyrics.

in

in 1753.

ment. During a journey

pastor's daughter

who

As

inspired

some of

a doctor of law he

returned to Frankfurt to carry on his


profession from 1771 to 1775.
Gillot,

was a

It

Claude (1673-1722)

Painter and engraver, born at Langres,


died in Paris.

Went

to Paris at

an early age

and studied under J.-B. Corneille. Furnished decor and costumes for the Grand

He met Watteau, with whom he


became friends. He was Watteau's teacher
and the two collaborated for five years.
They separated in 1708 but the cause of
their parting was never revealed. From
this date Gillot is said to have abandoned
painting to devote himself to drawing and
his etchings. He was admitted to the
Opera.

Academy

in 1715.

period of

boredom and

frustration but an

unfortunate love affair produced his SorGillray,

rows of Young Werther, which spread his


reputation through Europe. The period

James (1757-1815)

and engraver, born


and died in London. Drew numerous
caricatures which made his reputation.
His last works date from 1811. A prey to
Painter, caricaturist

alcohol, he lived for several years in a


state

own

of degeneration before taking


life in

his

also produced his

Weimar, entered the service of the Duke


of Weimar and became interested in the
politics of the Duchy. In 1782 he was
raised to the nobility. He had begun

Egmont some years

1815.

whom
Goethe, Wolfgang von (1749-1832)

1826. In

writer,

born

in

Frankfurt, son of

a jurist. Studied law in Leipzig

from 1765

from

September 1786 he
to Italy,

Venice and

and

At the court of

earlier.

Charlotte von Stein, with

he corresponded

and went

German

Bcrli-

chingen and Clavigo. In 1775 he settled in

Weimar he met

166

dramas Gotz von

Sicily.

first

Rome and
He

to

in

left

776 to

the court

Verona, then

1787 to Naples

returned later to

Rome and

completed Egmont. More than a year


he

Leyden

medicine

in

and then

travelled through Europe.

regrets
his

Edinburgh he went

later

went back to Weimar, with some


about

Roman

Italy.

Elegies

From

this

period

came

and Torquato Tasso. In

in

to

Back

England he practised medicine for some

time in the poorer quarters of London,

He

1805 Schiller died; Goethe had his Theory

then worked for a bookseller.

of Colours published. Not long afterwards


he met Bettina, with whom he corre-

ched a journal. The Bee, and entered the

sponded
between

Goethe

From

place.

1807 the meeting

until 1811. In

Napoleon took
came some of his

and

these years

main works: Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship, published in 1821 and 1829, Hermann and Dorothea and Poetry and Truth.
At the age of eighty-three he completed

on which he had worked


died on 20 March 1832.

Faust,
1772.

since

He

laun-

Club of London. Although reckless and prodigal with money, his genius
was undeniable and he soon came to the
notice of Johnson and his circle. The
Traveller in 1764 established him firmly as
a poet and his chief prose work two years
Literary

later, 77?^'

Vicar of Wakefield,

became one

of the classics of the English language. His


plays

The Good-natured

Stoops

to

Man and

ages of the theatre,

She
on down the
and The Deserted

among

the finest of English

Conquer have

Village ranks

Goldoni, Carlo (1707-93)

lived

18th-century poetry.

born

Italian dramatist,
Paris. Studied

1748

to

1752

in

Venice, died in

law and philosophy.

From

he wrote plays for the

Sant'Angelo theatre

in Venice.

He

tried to

reform the Italian theatre by freeing

from the traditional form of the

Comme-

dia dell'Arte. In 1762, despite his success,


the criticisms of Gozzi,

aesthetic

were more conservative, forced

beliefs

him

whose

to

leave

for

Paris.

He wrote

media.

mond)

Madrid and Saragosa.

(Rough Dia-

frescoes in the royal palaces

pleted a

He

Goya

Lucientes

Goya was born on

Goldsmith, Oliver (1728-74)

(Francisco Jose

31

March

de)

1746, near

Saragosa. In 1760 he went to the Saragosa

English writer, born at Pallasmore, IreAfter

and com-

number of portraits.

(1746-1828)

London.

1765 he was

demy. From 1757, as court painter, he did

penury.

in

In

Com-

(1771) and Memories (1784-7).

died

Madrid.

frescoes in various churches in Castille,

was appointed Italian teacher to the royal


princesses and was granted a pension, but
this ended with the Revolution. He died in

land,

in

pupil of Corrado Giaquinto, he painted

appointed director of the Madrid Aca-

several plays in French,

including Bourru Bienfaisant

Spanish painter, born and died

still

There he

fought against the partisans of the

Gonzalez-Velasquez, Antonio (1723-93)

it

studying

school to study painting and in 1763


for

Madrid. He once said

his

left

teachers

167

Goya
f'hf

Hr inker

Madrid, Prado

an opulent

He bought

life.

a house at San

Isidoro where he received friends. In 1788

Charles

III

ber.

But

His

died.

named Goya

Charles

heir.

at the

same time Goya

remained incurably deaf. His

IV,

chamill and

painter of the King's


fell

liaison with

when

the

Duchess of Alba ended

the

Duchess was mysteriously poisoned.

The Majas date from


liaison. In

1800

Goya

1802

in

the pjeriod of this

painted a collective

portrait

of the royal family.

horrified

by the Napoleonic invasion, he

painted

The

May 3,

Outbreak

1808. Later he

Disasters of War.

of

made

In

May

1808,

3 and

the engraving

About 1824 he

out

fell

of favour with Ferdinand VII and went to

Bordeaux. At the age of eighty he made a

were

"

Rembrandt,

and

Velasquez

Nature" but he studied under Francisco


Bayeu, painter to the King with Mengs
and Tiepolo. In 1766 he went

to Italy

trip to

left Italy in

Parma Academy. He

Graff,

Anton (1736-1813)

1771. Returning to Saragosa,

Portrait painter

he did his

first

important work, decorating

the chancel of the church of


the

Pillar.

Madrid, a

1775

In
series

Our Lady of

undertook,

Bayeu. In
ter,
all

who

and miniaturist, born

where he studied, died

at
in

Dresden. In 1756 he went to Augsburg

in

and then

at

Santa Barbara.

He

worked under the direction of Raphael

Mengs with

Winterthur,

to

Ansbach, where he became

of cartoons for the royal

factory

tapestry

he

later.

and

the following year took the second prize


for painting at the

Madrid, but returned to Bordeau.x

and died two years

his

Francisco

instructor,

775 he married Bayeu's daugh-

bore him twenty children, almost

assistant to the court painter Schneider. In

1759 he painted portraits at Augsburg.

He

was painter to the court at Dresden from


1765 and member of the Vienna and

Munich Academies.

of them dying at a very young age. In

1780 he was received into the San Fer-

nando Academy with his Crucifixion. For


some time he had been presented at court
and had become a celebrity; he painted
the portraits of

all

the important people,

including that of the King. In

168

785 he was

Gravelot (known as Hubcrt-FranQois

Bourguignon d'Anvillc) (1699-1773)


French painter and engraver, born and
died in Paris. Gravelot was best

books he

known

appointed deputy-director of the San Fer-

for

nando Academy and from then on

Racine, Corneille, Marmontel, Ovid,

lived

the

illustrated

(Boccaccio.
etc.)

Jean-Baptisle Grcuze

Man's

//(</ (study)

Leningrad

Museum

Studied art

In

in Paris.

1733 Claude du

Bosc invited him to London to help with


engraving.
lot

It

was

at this time that

Grave-

published his Treatise on Perspective.

Through

the drawing school he

the Strand, Gravelot

was able

opened

in

to exercise a

About

studio of the painter Grandon.

1750 he was studying under Natoire

Very rapidly one of

Paris.

in

his paintings.

Father of the Family explaining the Bible to

was noticed and made

his Children,

name. The Academy accepted him

in

his

June

certain influence over the English school.

1755; without delay Greuze exhibited at

Notable among

the

his

pupils

was Gains-

borough. Gravelot was also one of the


first

caricaturists in England. In 1754 he

settled in

Paris

where he made a great

reputation as an illustrator;

works are the engravings

among

his

for Rousseau's

Nouvelie Heloise.

Salon stylised scenes which, apart

from some

were to constitute

portraits,

From September

the whole of his work.

1755 to April 1757 he travelled in Italy but

not seem to have any

this did

on

effect

his

work. Returning to Paris he exhibited

Accordee de

1761

which put the

Betrothed),

seal

on

his

in

the

Menage (Peace

success; Paix en

in

(The Village

Village

Household) and the Paralytique soigne par


ses Enfants (Paralytic tended by his Chil-

Greuze, Jean-Baptiste (1725-1805)

dren) were

Greuze was born


father

was a

in

Toumus, where

slater. In his

his

middle twenties

he went to Lyons to learn painting in the

new

Diderot noted
for

Greuze

successes.

in his

at the

About

this

time

Salons his preference

expense of Boucher. But

made an unfortunate error:


enter the Academy as an histori-

then Greuze
trying to

cal painter, he presented a

canvas L'Em-

pereur Severe reprochant a son Fils d\ivoir


voulu

Vassassiner

reproaching

(Emperor

Caracalla).

Severus

The Academy

committee gratuitously snubbed him on


this

and

on the
that

classified

him

as a genre painter

basis of his previous work.

moment Greuze

From

refused to exhibit at

and never again set foot inside


Academy. At the same time the popularity of his work began to dwindle.

the Salon
the

Stricken by
rated

ruined

from
him,

all

his
in

sorts of worries, he sepawife,

1785.

who had

almost

The Revolution,

which he welcomed enthusiastically, did


nothing to restore him to favour.

He

and 1802
without marked success: his style had
definitely ceased to please. He died on
exhibited at the Salon in 1800

169

March

21

of fate

and by a strange quirk

1805,

which

Emperor,

Guardi, Gianantonio (1698-1760)

unfinished a Portrait of the

left

daughter

his

was

to

born and died

Italian painter,

was the great Venetian


instructor. In 1755 he

Grimm

in

Venice.

Elder brother of Francesco. Gianantonio

complete.

(Frederick Melchior, Baron)

of Arts.

his

follower of Sebastiano Ricci. he

adopted the romantic and naturalist

German
at

writer,

born near Ratisbon. died

Gotha. He studied

Leipzig, then

the

at the University

of

went to France as attache

to

Prince of Saxe-Gotha.

He was an

His

most

St Joseph,
rich

is

in the Berlin

Museum. He

1753 he took over direction of a literary

work.

Abbe Raynal and


and

1812 and 1813.

He

of

Kaiser-Fried-

it

is

some of

difficult

to

their studio

his

Critical Corre-

spondence (seventeen volumes) appeared


in

style.

Death

collaborated with his

brother Francesco and


distinguish between

Literary, Philosophical

work.

important

intimate friend of the great writers. In

journal from the

only

name as
Venice Academy

historical painter at the

(1723-1807)

painter's

made

Guglielmi, Gregorio (1714-73)

also wrote for the

Encyclopaedia.

painter,

Italian

born

At

St Petersburg.

first

Rome, died

in

Sebastiano Conca. They were together

Dresden (1753),

Guardi, Francesco (1712-93)

at

he studied under
in

Vienna (1755). Turin

(1765) and then in St Petersburg. Gugliel-

to a family of painters: his

mi also carried out several works at Augsburg and for the Schonbrunn Castle; he

married Tiepolo and his father had

painted several frescoes for the Hospital

Italian painter,

He belonged
sister

born and died

in Venice.

been a pupil of Sebastiano Ricci. Guardi

began

in

the

family

" bottega ",

then

directed by his elder brother Gianantonio.

At

first

he did decorative work and

reli-

in Rome. He is also
known for ceiling sketches (now in the
Nancy Museum) which he offered to

of the Holy Spirit

Catherine

II.

gious paintings for the church and then

numerous paintings of Venice {Rialto,


St Mark's Square, The Church of the
Salute) which he repeated a number of
times. He was accepted by the Academy in

Bavarian painter, born

1784 only as a painter of perspective.

at

Francesco Guardi was one of the great

Asam

Venetian painters of the 18th century.


is

regarded

as

romantic stream
170

Gunther, Matthaus Matha (1705-88)

the

forerunner

which

led

Impressionism and Tuscan

to

He

of the

French

" tachism ".

Hard.

Was

in

a pupil of

Bisenberg. died

Cosmas Damian

Munich. Gunther was director of


Augsburg Academy, where he was
installed in 1731. The Bavarian national
museum in Munich has several portraits
in

the old

by

this painter.

William Hogarth
I he

Shrimp Girl

London, National Gallery

Hayman, Francis (1708-76)


English historical painter and illustrator,

born

London. Was a
and Gains-

Exeter, died in

in

Brown,

Robert

of

pupil

borough worked under

He

his direction.

Pope, Milton, Cervantes and

illustrated

Hayman was one

Shakespearean works.

of the founder-members of the Royal

Academy.

National Portrait Gallery.

made

in

the

Hayman

also

self-portrait

is

number of etchings.

Helvetius, Claude- Adrien (1715-71)

His

Farmer-General and philosopher, born


near Paris.
the

Was one

Encyclopaedia.

and took to

its

sualist theory

Of

tises:

the

of the supporters of
Helvetius developed

extreme Condillac's sen-

of knowledge

in

two

trea-

Mind, which appeared

in

first

great work, a series of six engrav-

ings called

in 1732. It

was followed three years

Harlot's Progress, appeared


later

by A Rake's Progress. Ten years later


came his masterpiece. Marriage a la
Mode. From then on his works became
more and more caricatured. In April 1764,
shortly

he

before

he

died,

painted

own

and Of the Man. The former caused


a great indignation and controversy. Par-

curious picture in which his

Sorbonne and the Pope condemned the book; Rousseau and Voltaire

bearded man. In 1753 he published his

1768,

liament, the

themselves

declared

shocked.

On

the

death of Helvetius, his widow opened a


" philosophical "

and

artists

who

salon

shared

for

face

appears behind the features of an old

celebrated
portrait

Analysis

with

his

National Gallery

in

of Beauty.

dog appears
London.

A
in

self-

the

intellectuals

her

husband's

views.

Holbach (Paul-Henri, Baron

d') (1723-89)

French philosopher, born

Edesheim

Hogarth, William (1697-1764)

the Palatinate.

He

at

in

ran in Paris a salon

which was the rendezvous of the encyclo-

He wrote

English painter, born and died in London.

paedists.

At

and mineralogy

first

fifteen

his

he became an apprentice. At

teacher was the engraver Ellis

Gamble;
Thornhill,

he studied under James


whose daughter he married.

later

Fame came

articles

for

the

on chemistry

Encyclopaedia.

him from his Christianity


Unmasked (1767) and System of Nature
(1770) which made him one of the most
to

171

of

atheists

materialist

intransigent,

his

well as

time.

works on

lished several

him

this subject, as

on the flight of birds, which earned


nickname of " Hubert the Bird-

the

catcher".

Hoppner, John (1758-1810)


English painter and engraver, born and

He was

died in London.

King and studied at the Royal Academy on a modest allowance from


George III. He exhibited at the Academy
from 1780. Although at first attracted by
landscapes, he later painted numerous
the

of the

portraits

became painter

Huet, Christophe (died 1759)

a natural son of

peerage.

to the Prince of

he

1789

In

Wales and

member of the Royal Academy.


He painted numerous portraits of women

in 1795 a

French painter and decorator. To him are


attributed the Grande

and

Petite Singerie

which for a long time were

at Chantilly,

thought to have been the work of Watteau.

Huet also painted Chinese motifs and

other work at the Hotel de Rohan. His

Dog pointing
Museum.

Partridges

Hume, David

(1711-76)

is

in the

Nantes

and children.

Houasse, Michel- Ange (1680-1730)

English philosopher and historian, born

and
French painter, born

He

Paris,

died in

died

Edinburgh.

in

where

France,

he

wrote

He went

to

Treatise

on

life

Human

Nature. Returning to Scotland, he

Spain where he replaced his father,

became

librarian to the Corporation of

Arpajon.
in

in

passed a great part of his

Rene-Antoine

Houasse,

painter to

King

elected

member of

Paris.

Several

principal

as

Philip V. In 1707 he

the

was

Academy of

of his works,

historical

scenes and portraits, are in the Prado

Museum

in

Madrid.

Advocates
back to

in

Edinburgh. In 1763 he went

Rousseau for a time


London, where he was for

Paris, joined

and returned

to

some time an Under-Secretary of

He passed

the

Edinburgh.

Hume

"

phenomenist

last

part of his

State.
life

in

was the founder of the

" school

of thought.

Huber, Jean (1721-86)


Hutin, Charles-Frangois (1715-76)

Swiss painter and engraver,


"

Huber- Voltaire

born

",

died in Lausanne.

A great

in

known

as

Chambery,
work

part of his

Some of
may be found in the Ariana
and Rath museums of Geneva. Huber was
is

devoted to the

life

of Voltaire.

his landscapes

72

also

interested

in

ballooning and pub-

French painter, sculptor and engraver,

born

in Paris,

pupil of Francois

Grand

Prize

stayed

in

He was
won
the
Maux
and
le
Painting in 1736. He

died in Dresden.

for

Rome

for

seven years, con-

centrating on sculpture. In 1748 he was

appointed instructor, then


tor, at the

in

1764 direc-

Dresden Academy.

Jeaurat, Etienne (1699-1789)

Huysum

French painter, born

(Jan Van) (1682-1749)

Vermenton, died

at

at Versailles. Historical

and genre

painter,

Dutch painter, born and died in Amsterdam. Son of Juste van Huysum, a floral

he worked with Nicholas Vleughel. In

painter, he specialised in painting flowers,

the

and landscapes. He painted sculpted vases, marble consoles and bas-reliefs

him. Jeaurat was admitted to the Aca-

still-life

to

emphasise the quality of his bouquets

1724 the latter was appointed director of

Rome Academy and

demy

1733; he

in

from 1739

took Jeaurat with

showed

at the

Salon

to 1769. In 1782 he also exhi-

of flowers. His work was bought by the

bited at the Correspondence Salon.

Kings of Poland and Prussia and the

tween

Duke of Orleans.

important posts at the Academy and

In

England

spread by Horace Walpole.

his

fame was

1737

and

named King's

1767 was

he held

1781

Be-

several
in

painter and custo-

dian of paintings at Versailles.

Jouvenet, Jean

644- 1717)

French painter, born


Paris, studied

under

in

Rouen, died

his father,

in

Laurent

From 1661 he studied at the


Royal Academy in Paris and was admitted to the Academy in 1675. He was a

Jouvenet.

success, and after the death of


Mignard and Le Brun became the head of

great

the

French school. He carried out the

decoration of the Rennes Parliament

in

1695. Because of a stroke he lost the use of


his right

hand towards the end of

his

but quickly trained himself to use the

life,

left

hand.

Juel, Jens (1745-1802)

Danish painter, born

at

Gamborg

Figen,

died in Copenhagen. Studied under Gehr-

mann

Hamburg, then took lessons at


the Copenhagen Academy. After travelling to Rome, Paris and Geneva, he
in

173

returned to Copenhagen in 1780, where

he was appointed court painter and

later

Academy. He was a

great

director of the
portraitist,

as

evidenced

by

which remain principally

in

his

the

works
Copen-

hagen Museum.

J2
Emmanuel

Kant,

German

(1724-1804)

philosopher, of Scottish origin,

born and died

Konigsberg.

in

fessor of logic

Was

and metaphysics

University of Konigsberg from

Juvara, Filippo (1676-1736)

Italian architect

and engraver, also

bom

in

Fontana.

deus

II

In

ideal

Ama-

to the court of

of his Religion within the Limits of Pure

1714 Victor

summoned him

modem

philosophy, which had a great influence


on modem philosophical speculation. His
best-known work is The Critique of Pure
Reason, written in 1781. The second part

called

Messina, died

in

Madrid. In Rome, Juvara studied under


Carlo

the

at

1770 to

797 and his later writings established him

as the leading exponent of

Juara or Ivara;

pro-

Turin, where he worked for almost twenty

Reason was suppressed by the Berlin Jour-

years, interspersed with journeys abroad.

nal in 1793 after

He was

part,

responsible

for

several

Turin

churches (particularly the Superga Basilica),

a royal palace and the plans for the

Stupingi

Castle.

In

1735

he

went

to

had published the first


but the whole of the work was later
it

published in Konigsberg. Soon after this

Kant

retired

and saw no one but intimate

friends in the last years of his

life.

Madrid, where he died the following year.

Kauffmann, Angelica Catharina Maria

Anna
Born

(1740-1807)

in Coire, Switzerland, died in

Rome.

Because she showed very great promise in

drawing

at a very early age, her father put

her into boy's clothing so that she could


attend

classes

Academy.

the

at

studied in Florence,

Rome,

She

Venice, had a

and then at court in


768, she became one of

great success in Italy

London where, in
members of
1

the original

the

Royal Aca-

demy. She painted a portrait of her great


friend Sir

Joshua Reynolds,

the Venetian painter

went to
graceful
174

live

in

later

married

Antonio Zucchi and

Rome. Her work was

and included

logy and allegories.

portraits,

mytho-

Kneller, Gottfried (1646-1723)

Portrait painter, of
in

Lubeck, died

in

German

born

origin,

Labille-Guiard, Adelaide

Van Dyck

as official portrait painter to

the court

749- 1 803)

in

London. He

studied

first

French portrait painter, born and died

She was the pupil of the painter

Paris.

under the Dutch painter Ferdinand Bol,

Vincent.

where he assimilated Rembrandt's tech-

the

nique. In 1672 he went to

Rome

as the

pupil of Carlo Maratta and Bernini. After

a stay of two years in Italy he returned to

Germany, then went to London: here his


success was considerable. He collaborated
at

London. He succeeded

the court with

Peter

number of his portraits


European museums.

Lely.

great

in

Elie

The Academy admitted her

at

same time as Madame Vigee-Lebrun


in 1783. She made numerous portraits in
oil and pastels of the principal figures of
the day, from the old regime to the
revolutionaries:
Mesdames of France
(daughters of Louis XV), Comtesse de
Clermont-Tonnerre, Robespierre,

etc.

are to be found in

Lafosse (Charles de) (1636-1716)

Krafft (Per

le

French historical painter,

Vieux) (1724-93)

bom

in Paris.

pupil of Le Brun, he decorated several

Swedish

known

portraitist,

as

"The

Swede", born in Arboga, died in Stockholm. He was professor of fine arts in

churches

and

in Paris (Invalides)

stately

homes in England. He was admitted


Academy in 1673.

to the

Stockholm. At the Polish court he painted


portraits

several

August.

for

King

The Stockholm

some of his

Stanislas-

Museum

has

Lafrensen the Younger, Nicolas


(called Lavreincc) (1737-1807)

portraits.

Swedish painter, born and died


Kucharski, Alexander (1741-1819)

He

holm.

in

Stock-

studied under his father, the

miniaturist Nicolas Lafrensen the Elder.

Warsaw, died in
Italy and in Paris,

Polish painter, born in


Paris.

He

studied in

where he painted a portrait of Marie


Antoinette
self

in 1780.

working

painted a

in

new

nette while she

Twice he found him-

the

Temple

portrait of

prison:

he

Marie Antoi-

was being detained

there.

On

his father's

death he went to Paris,

where he stayed three years,

many and

went back
called

to

to Paris in

Ger-

1771 but

was

He
re-

Stockholm and was made a

member of
painter. He
was forced

the

Academy and

to leave

broke out and went

on the

King's

returned to Paris again but

when

home

where he completed a
tions

visited

then returned to Stockholm.

the Revolution
to

suite

Stockholm,
of composi-

history of Sweden.

175

Nicolas Lancret

The Music Lesson


Pans, Louvre

Lagrenee, Louis-Jean-Frangois

(1725-1805)

French painter, born and died in Paris. He


was a pupil of Carle Van Loo, won the
Rome prize in 749 and was accepted by
the Academy in 1755. In 1760 he was
1

appointed director of the Fine Arts Aca-

demy

at St Petersburg, but

returned to

Paris three years later. In 1781 he

director of the
this

Rome

became

On

school.

leaving

school he received a pension from the

King and an apartment

Lampi

at the Louvre.

demy

the Elder, Jean-Baptiste

in

ceived
Italian portraitist

born

in

in

and

Romeno, died

his studies at

1719 as painter of fetes galantes,

the type in which he specialised.

(1751-1830)

European

Made

Frederick

in

Vienna.

Salzburg and under Lorenzi

Verona. In 1783

in

Vienna he painted

portraits of the Potocki family. In 1787 he

became painter

to the court of

Warsaw

where he painted the portrait of King


Stanislas-August.

In

many commissions from

historical painter,

1791

he

left

He

re-

the great

XV.
He was

collectors, including Louis


II

and the Prince.

named adviser to the Academy in 1735.


He painted many decorative pieces for
Versailles,

and a

La Muette and Fontainebleau

series

of paintings inspired by La

Fontaine's Fables.

for

Russia but returned later to Vienna and

became

member of the Academy.

Largilliere (Nicolas de) (1656-1746)

French painter,

bom

His parents went to

Lancret, Nicolas (1690-1743)

and died in Paris.


Antwerp three

live in

years after his birth and

French painter, born and died


son of a coachman.

He

first

in Paris,

learned en-

graving as the pupil of Pierre Dulin. In


1702 he was expelled from an

Academy

course and withdrew from the competi-

Rome

was there

that

he served his apprenticeship. Admitted as

master of the Guild

worked

in

in

1672. In 1674 he

London under

the direction of

Peter Lely. Persecution of the Catholics

brought him to Paris

in

1678 where, as a

prize after an early

protege of Le Brun, he built up a consider-

setback. Studying under Gillot, he began

able reputation. In 1685 he went to Lon-

tion

for the

On Walteaus

he applied himself to painting landscapes,

don
and

He was admitted

as a

to imitate Watteau.

176

it

about 1717.

advice

to the

Aca-

King James II
the Queen. In 1686 he was admitted
to paint a portrait of

member of

the Roval

Academv

in

Nicolas de Largilliere
Beautiful Lady of Strasbourg
Strasbourg,

Museum

of Fine Arts

Academy on presentation of
portraits. He exhibited at the

cepted by the

two

pastel

Salon from

1739 until

His work

1765.

fetched high prices at this time. In 1745 he

exhibited at the Salon a Portrait of the

King and Dauphin; the same year he

re-

ceived permission to live at the Louvre.

He was admitted

Academy

to the

in

1746

with a portrait of his master, J.Restout. In

named

he was

1751

demy. In 1753

adviser to the Aca-

his Portrait

of Queen Marie

Leczinska was exhibited at Versailles; the

vogue of
trait

of

work grew

his

Madame

incessantly. Por-

de Pompadour, regarded

as his masterpiece,

was painted

in 1755. In

and was

1766 he travelled in Holland. Towards

named a director in 1728. He painted a


great number of portraits of women, at

delirium and his brother took him back

which he was more

to

Paris

of Le Brun)

{Portrait

gifted than his friend

Hyacinthe Rigaud, and to whom,

male

turn, he sent his

in re-

the end of his

He

certified.

February

16-17

clients.

Museum
in his

where

Quentin,

St

him

La Tour sank

life

into a

family

his

had

died on the night of

The

1788.

Quentin

St

has about eighty pastels, found

studio at the time of his death.

La Tour (Maurice Quentin de) (1704-88)


French painter, born and died

at St

Quen-

His father wanted

to

be an

tin.

him

Lawrence

(Sir

Thomas) (1769-1830)

engineer but La Tour rapidly proved his

English portrait painter, died in London.

own

In 1722. after being refused

In

working

in

talent.

several times, he succeeded

with Spoede and

Dupoch

in

1787 he entered the Royal

London

Academy

Lawrence rapidly

as a pupil.

1724

distinguished himself as a portrait painter

he was at Cambrai, where a diplomatic

and replaced Reynolds as an ordinary

was being held. The


Ambassador offered him a place
don and La Tour remained there
years. On his return he wanted

painter to the

in Paris. In

congress

British
in

Lon-

for

two

to take

advantage of the pro-British feeling of

countrymen

in

passing himself

off"

his

as an

member of
In

1814 and

French personalities
In

Vienna and

literary

drawing and read

Made

1792.

Academy

in

1794,

1815 he painted the

portraits of the Prince Regent

of a contemporary, retired for two years


to perfect his

in

he pursued a brilliant career as a portraitist.

English painter, but instead, on the advice

and

King

the Royal

1818

he

went

who were
to

Rome and

and leading
in

Aix-la-Chapelle,

brought back por-

royal collection.

scientific

traits

for

works. In 1737 he was ac-

made

President of the Royal

the

London.

He was
Academy

177

and made a portrait of Charles X in 1825.


His works remain in Dublin. London

the

museums and

Rome

in the

Louvre.

Le Lorrain, Louis-Joseph (1715-59)


French painter and engraver, born

Was the

Paris, died in St Petersburg.

of

Dumont

le

Won

Remain.

the

first

in

pupil
prize

Loo. In 1751 and 1753 he

Academy and took


in 1759. In

won

prizes at

the second prize in

1764 he was accepted by

the Academy and admitted in 1769. In the


same year he was made King's painter
and, in 1779, professor at the Academy. A
religious crisis in 1783 caused him to
modify his paintings and he devoted himself to scenes of rural life. At the end of his
life he had Carle Vernet as a pupil.

for painting in 1739, admitted as Aca-

demician

in 1756.

director of the

Two

years later he was

Academy of

Fine Arts

St Petersburg. In 1753, 1755

exhibited

and

mythological

religious,

at

Le

Prince, Jean-Baptiste (1734-81)

and 1757 he

decorative subjects at the Salon.

He

illus-

Le Fontaine's Fables and Orlando

French painter and engraver, born

at

Metz, died at St-Denis-du-Port. Historical

Furioso.

and painter of genre


and landscapes. Because of the patronage
of the Marshal de Bell-Isle, governor of

Lemoine, Francois (1688-1737)

Frangois Boucher

trated

painter, portraitist

Metz, he was able to enter the studio of

above
French historical and genre painter, born

and died

in

grand prize

Won

Paris.

in 1711

the

Academy

and was admitted

in

all in

Russia to

in

Paris.

He

excelled

engraving. In 1758 he went to

fulfil

an order from the Tsar for

decoration of several ceilings in the Imperial Palace. St Petersburg.

Towards

the

Le-

end of 1764 he went back to Paris where

moine painted various pictures for the


Chateau of Versailles and Saint-Sulpice
Church in Paris (1729-31). In 1733 he was

he achieved great success with the draw-

1718. In

1723 he travelled in

appointed

From

this

professor

at

the

Italy.

Academy.

date he began decorating the

ings

and engravings he brought back from


He was admitted to the Aca-

his travels.

demy

in 1765.

Towards the end of


weakened by the Russian climate,

Hercules Salon at Versailles which gained

his

him the

he retired to

1736.

title

of King's principal painter

He took

his

own

life

in

Diderot had a great admir-

ation for Le Prince.


life,

live in the

country.

the following

year.
Levitski, Dimitri Gregoriovitch

(1735-1822)
Lepicie, Michele-Nicolas-Bernard

Russian portrait painter, born

(1735-84)

died in St Petersburg.

French painter, born


178

in Paris

of a family

of painters and was a pupil of Carle Van

siderable
traits

reputation

in

He enjoyed

Kiev,
a con-

and painted por-

of the Imperial family and leading

Pietro Longhi

Duck Hunters on

the luigoon

Venice, Qucrini Stampalia Gallery

Russian personalities. The Leningrad and

Moscow museums have a number

Locke, John (1632-1704)

of these
English philosopher.

works.

An

innate idea, he placed

adversary of the
all

man's know-

ledge in the category of resulting from

experience and laid


Liotard, Jean-Etienne (1702-89)

facts

down

the idea that

all

must be severely tested before being


He was also

used as the basis for theories.


Swiss painter, of French origin, born in

an ardent defender of liberalism.

Geneva. Went to Paris

famous

worked

1723 where he

in

for several princely families

for ecclesiastical circles.

Of an

and

Essay

concerning

Understanding appeared

in

the

His

Human

1690.

adventur-

ous nature, he undertook a number of


journeys, to

Rome

(1736), to Constanti-

nople, where he stayed five years,

He was

Moldavia.

Vienna where, because of


style beard,

Painter";

from

greatest

work.

which

in the

is

to
in

"The Turkish

popularity of his brother Pietro Longhi,

this

period

Chocolate

dates

his

Seller,

Dresden Museum. After

Venice, Darmstadt and Lyons he went to

Vienna. Before settling

and engraver, born and

died in Venice. Taking advantage of the

The

Paris where his success

Italian painter

Moldavian-

his

he was called

and

success

great

Longhi, Alessandro (1733-1813)

was as great as in
in Geneva in 1758

he stayed in England, Holland, again

in

Alessandro was able to paint portraits of

He was a member and


Academy. He also proof Modern Venetian Artists

Venetian society.
professor of the

duced a Life

with portraits engraved by himself, which

contained valuable information on Venetian painting of the time.

France and went several times to Vienna.


In his latter days he

produced a technical

work. Treatise on the Principles and Rules


of Painting.

Liotard

left

for

pastels, miniatures, portraits

ings

Longhi, Pietro (1702-85)

posterity

and paint-

Venetian genre painter, pupil of Balestra

and particularly of G. M. Crespi. Passed

on enamel.

his life in his native city, with

Locatelli,

honours

Andrea (I693-C.1741)

Italian painter,

born and died

in

Rome;

painter of historical subjects, architecture,

genre and landscapes.

He

imitated Claude

Gellee and Francesco Zuccarelli and had


a

fairly

great reputation

taught Joseph Vemet.

in

Rome. He
179

Alessandro Magnasco

Hunter
Florence, Uffizi Gallery

heaped on him and a degree of wealth. He


was the painter of the well-off middle class
of Venice, whose private and public lives
he put on canvas. The greater part of
his

works are

Museum,

in

Venice in the Correr

Academy,

the

Palazzi

the

_E3
Maella

M ariano Salvador de)

Spanish painter, born

Madrid.

He was

739- 1 8 1 9)

in Valencia,

died in

a pupil of Gonzalez.

Maella was director of the San Fernando

Grassi and Albrizzi.

Academy and principal painter to the


King. He painted historical scenes, land-

Losenko, Anton Pavlovitch (1737-73)

scapes and seascapes.

The Prado Museum

has several of his works.

Russian historical painter, born in Glukhov, died in St Petersburg. After travelling

in

Italy

and France he was made


Academy. A

director of the St Petersburg

number of his works are

museum

in the

Magnasco, Alessandro

(called

of
Lissandrino) (1667-1749)

this city.

Loutherbourg, Jacques-Philippe

worked

II

great

(1740-1812)

bom

painter,

Italian

in

in

Genoa.

He

Milan with Abbiati. He painted

religious

compositions which are

regarded as having reached one of the


Landscapist and painter of battles, born
in Strasburg, died in
first

apprenticeship

London. Served
under

his

his

peaks of Italian

18th-century

painting

He was painter to
Grand Duke of Florence and his work
somewhat analogous to that of Callot

{Supper at Emmaus).

father,

the

Jacques-Philippe Loutherbourg the First.


is

He

studied

also

Casanova.

He had

under Tischbein and


a great reputation as a

painter of animals and

landscapes.

member of

In

Academy,
later painter to the King and in 1781
became a member of the Royal Academy.
His works remain in London, Strasburg
and Stockholm.
1768 he was a

the

Lundberg, Gustav (1695-1786)

Swedish painter. Lived


to

1745,

Academy. He

is

regarded

best portraitist of the

tury school. His

180

the

in Paris

from 1717

where he was admitted


in

Sweden

to the

as the

Swedish 18th-cen-

works are

to be

found

museums of Stockholm and Nancy.

in

and seems

to point to that of

Goya.

Luis

Mclendc/

Self-portrait
Paris,

Marivaux

Louvre

Chamblain de)

(Pierre de

(1688-1763)

French writer, born


in

Marivaux's

importance

stemmed
roles and

The novelty
work is the

in Paris.

theatrical

given

to

love.

From

this

the importance of his feminine


a certain lack of action strength.

In 1722 he achieved a great success with


his

Surprise of Love.

His best works.

which he wrote between 1730 and 1740,


were

Game of Love and

The

Indiscreet Vows,

Chance,

The Fortunate Stratagem,

^^^^^^^H'7 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^1

^^^Hl -^^^^^^^^KKt^^

^R^^^^^
^H
^^^^^^^^

^^^^^^^^^^^^^B

^^^^H

i^H

^^

The Legacy, False Confidences and The

Proof In 1743 he was elected a member of


the French Academy.

and painted the decorations for the choirMaulbertsch, Franz Anton (1724-96)

books of the royal chapel. In 1773 he

Austrian painter and engraver, born at

great success.

He

Langenragen on Lake Constance, died

tures for the

Aranjuez Palace. He was

found

be a very great painter

painted the Holy Family, which

Vienna.

Moravia, the

some

portraits.

Was

Vienna Academy

admitted

Dresden
is

in

best

to

He

'

later to

still-life,

Escorial

examples of which are in the


and the Prado in Madrid. The

Louvre has a

Self-portrait

by Melendez.

1775 and to Prague in 1794.

known

as the leading fresco

works are

museums of Graz,

to be

Berlin

Rococo

found

Menageot, Fran(;ois-Guillaume
[1744-1816)

in che

and Vienna.

French painter, born


Paris.

Worked

cher. In 1765

1766 the

Melendez (or Menendez), Luis (1716-80)

first,

was admitted

in

London, died

in

with Deshays and Bou-

he took the second, and


prize in
to

the

in

Madrid.

Madrid

Studied

art.

In

in

went to

Naples, died

Rome

with

in

his

Rome,

in

Institute.

Madrid he worked on miniatures

churches,

in

1790 professor at the Ecole des

Beaux-Arts and

to perfect his

in

Rome. In 1780 he
Academy, in 1787

appointed director of the French school

Spanish painter, born

father, then

ol

travelled to

painter at the end of the Austrian


period. His

the

1759 and became

in

professor there in 1770.

He

in

numerous frescoes in
Tyrol and Hungary, and

Painted

won him

painted numerous pic-

in

1809 a

He worked
notably

in

member of
several

Saint-Nicholas

the

Paris

du

181

Chardonnet and Saint-Eustache, as well


as the church at Neuilly and Saint-Peter's
at

Montesquieu (Charles de Secondat, baron


de La Brede,

et de)

(1689-1755)

Douai.

French writer, born


Brede

Chateau de La

at

Gironde, died

in the

in Paris. In-

tended to be a magistrate, he succeeded

Mengs, Anton Raphael (1728-79)

uncle

his

German

in

painting in Dresden and

but

the

Bordeaux

began

travelling

to

soon

Aus-

throughout Europe to gather material for

Rome. Studied
Rome, where he

the monumental work on jurisprudence


on which he worked all his life. In 1721
Montesquieu wrote his Discourse on the
Transparency of Bodies and Observations

painter and writer,

Bohemia, died

sig,

bom

adviser

as

Parliament,
at

became a court painter in 1745. He


worked on the decoration of the church of
Saint-John in Rome and painted numer-

on Natural History. His Persian Letters,

ous portraits of princes. In 1761 he be-

appearing the same year, were a social and

came

even more political

principal painter to

King Charles

III

of Spain and worked with Tiepolo on


frescoes for the royal palace.
to

Italy

From

in

He

1769 and settled

returned

in

Rome.

1773 to 1777 he stayed again at the

court of the King of Spain.


brilliant glory

to Titian,

He

rose to

during his Hfetime; Hkened

Correge or Raphael, he imposed

on his pupils and


on painters who occupied less official posia veritable dictatorship

tions than his

own.

satire

of his

own

countrymen and were the forerunner of


his Esprit des Lois. In 1734 he produced
Causes of the Greatness and Decay of the
Romans, the first work in which the philo-

sophy of history

is

applied without re-

course to theology. But

it

was

his Esprit

des Lois in 1748, a profound study of the

world's

and

legal

political

institutions,

placed jurisprudence into

that

first

ture

and firmly established him

Montesquieu put
tation

into

it

his life's

and

it

litera-

in history.

work and medi-

remains a classic

today.

Mercier, Philippe (1689-1760)

Genre painter and

portraitist,

Berlin of French parents, died in

He

in

studied in Berlin, Venice, Florence and

Rome.

In

settled

in

1720, after his marriage,

he

Hanover where he made

the

acquaintance of the Prince of Wales.

He

went

182

born

London.

to

London with

the

Prince

and

Mura (Francesco
Italian painter,

Studied

first

de) (1696-1782)

born and died

later

royal family. His rural festival scenes, very

in

much

several portraits of princes

were often mis-

taken for those of Watteau.

Naples.

under Solimena. He worked mainly

painted several portraits of the British

liked in England,

in

under Domenico Piola and

Naples and Turin. He also painted

of Savoy and some

and princesses

still-lifes.

Jean-Marc Nattier
The Duke de Boufflers
Rheims. Fine Arts Museum

ra

XIV. Nattier began by


making drawings for engravers, including
the Rubens of Luxemburg. In 1715 the
Tsar summoned him to Amsterdam,
the reign of Louis

Natoire, Charles-Joseph (1700-77)

French painter, born

at

Nimes, died

at

where Nattier painted the portraits of the

Castelgandolfo. Son of the architect and

imperial

sculptor Florent Natoire, he was a pupil

members of

won the first prize


Manne offrant un Sacri-

family

and

other

important

the Russian court,

and the

Returning to Paris,

of Lemoine. In 1731 he

Battle

for painting with

became a member of the Academy


He worked
as a portrait painter, became known in the
entourage of the Duke of Orleans and was

fice pour obtenir un

Sacrifice to obtain a

Rome

(Manne offering a
Son). He studied in

Fils

where, at a young age, he acquired

a wide reputation. Returning to Paris he


exhibited at

first in

the Place Dauphine. In

1734 he entered the

Academy and became


later. He took

professor there three years

of Poltava.

Nattier

in

1718 and professor in 1752.

appointed painter to the royal family

From

1745.

in

1737 to 1763 he exhibited

regularly at the Salon, but died disgraced

and generally forgotten.

part in the decoration of the Hotel de

Soubise and

made numerous

tapestry car-

toons for the royal tapestry works. In


1751

he became director of the French

school in

Nixon, John

1760-1818)

From 1779
made drawings for the engraver
Watts of the stately homes of England and
Ireland. From 1784 to 1815 he exhibited
English designer and engraver.

has several of his works.

to

Nattier,

(c.

Rome. The Stockholm Museum

Jean-Marc (1685-1766)

French painter, born and died

in Paris,

son of Marc Nattier, a portrait painter

in

at

786 he

the Royal

Academy,

in

whose

cata-

logues he was listed as the Reverend John

Nixon.

Norblin de La Gourdaine, Jean-Pierre


(1745-1830)

French historical painter and

born

He

at

portraitist,

Misy-sur-Yonne and died

studied

in

in Paris.

Dresden with Giovanni

Casanova. In 1771 he won the grand prize

He founded the
Warsaw Academy of Painting and became
of the Dresden Academy.

painter to

King Stanislas-August

Polish court.

at the

183

Jcan-Baptiste

Oudry

Heron (study)
Paris. Louvre

-a

Beauvais.

Octavien, Frangois (1695-1736)

dealer, taught

French painter, born

art,

French painter, born


Paris.

He was admitted

in

Rome, died
Academy

to the

then sent

in

Paris,

died in

and

painter

father,

art

him the rudiments of his


him to the St Luke masters'
was a

in

school. At the age of eighteen he

in

pupil of Michel Serre, then painter to the

1725 and was one of the better followers

King's galleys in Marseilles. Oudry went

of Watteau with Bar and Pater. His works

there with Serre

are in the Louvre and the

Nancy Museum.

the St

Opie, John (1761-1807)

and did not return

Paris for four years.


five years

under

Largilliere.

professor there

in

painting,

English painter and illustrator, died in

urban landscapes

London. While very young he began por-

classified

trait painting,

in favour

but abandoned this rapidly

He

of historical painting.

bited at the

exhi-

Royal Academy from 1782

and was made a member

1787.

in

In

1806 he replaced Fuseli as professor of


painting. His

works are

to be

found

London museums.

Oudry, Jean-Baptiste (1686-1755)

in

his

him

him

in

Admitted to

in 1708,

1717.

then

He

he became
tried

portraits,

1718.

to

studied for

first

then

The Academy

as historical painter. In 1722

Chasse au Sang Her (Boar Hunt)

Sweden;
the

Then he

Luke Academy

religious

184

His

won

commission from the King of


in

1725 he was

Beauvais factory.

made

In

painter to

1743

he suc-

ceeded de Troy as professor at the Aca-

demy. Oudry was the most sought-after


animal painter of the 18th century.

Jean-Baptiste Pater
i^'omun Halhing (study)

Pans, Louvre

Panini, Giovanni Paolo (1691-1765)

Italian landscapist,

born

at Piacenza, died

Rome. He was a pupil of Benedetto


Luti and Andrea Locatelli. He carried out
large decorative works in Rome. In 1732
he was made a member of the Royal
Academy of Painting in Paris, then professor at the French Academy in Rome.
He is best known for his landscapes with
in

ruins,

which are to be found

in

^'

many

museums throughout Europe.


Pater, Jean-Baptiste-Joseph (1695-1736)

French painter,

bom

at

Valenciennes,

died in Paris. His father was the sculptor

Paret y Alcazar, Luis (1746-99)

Antoine Pater. In 1713 he studied for


Spanish painter, born and died

some time under Watteau


in

in Paris.

After a

Madrid.

Worked with Antonio Gonzalez-Velaswon the San Fernando Academy medal and became a
member of the Madrid Academy. He
illustrated Don Quixote. The Prado in

stay at Valenciennes he returned to Paris

where he rapidly became the painter of

quez. Several times he

Madrid has

several of his works.

middle-class

him

Shortly

society.

his last advice. In

many commissions
Parrocel, Charles (1688-1752)

French painter and engraver, born and

Pellegrini,

Rome. Remade a member of


He followed King

Italian painter,

XV

in

1721.

and painted several

him on horseback during


from 1737

to 1746.

He

portraits of

the

of 1744-5. Parrocel exhibited

drawings.

he worked on

and, overworked, died

Giovanni Antonio (1675-1741)

Was

Academy

life

a pupil of Charles de

turning to Paris he was

Louis

in

age of forty-one.

Lafosse. In 1712 he went to

the

1725 he was ap-

1728 as a painter o{ fetes galantes. During

at the

Was

to give

proved by the Academy and admitted


the latter part of his

died in Paris.

he

before

Watteau summoned Pater

died,

also

campaigns

at the

Salon

made many

Paolo Pagani.
where,

bom

among

He worked

in

Venice.

Ricci

first in

and

Holland

other things, he decorated

the ceilings of the

Hague. Then

and died

of Sebastiano

pupil

Mauritshuis

his travels

in

took him to

The
Italy.

England, Germany, Flanders, France and


Austria.

Giovanni Battista Piranesi

Woman and Characters


Paris.

Pierre, Jean-Baptiste (1713-89)

Perronneau, Jean-Baptiste (1715-83)

bom

French painter,

died in

Paris,

in

School of Fine Arts Library

French painter,

and died

in Paris.

Studied under Natoire. In 1735 he worked

Laurent Cars before becoming a pupil of

form. In 1746 he was approved by the

Rome. Returning to Paris in 1740, he


was admitted to the Academy in 1742,
became professor in 1748 and director in
1770. In the same year he was appointed

Then he

principal painter to the King, replacing

engraving

Studied

From

Natoire.

1743 onwards he painted

portraits in pastels rivalling


this

Academy and admitted

La Tour

in 1753.

land. In 1781 he
in

went

Amsterdam on

his

to Russia

way

in

and Hol-

travelled through France, Italy

and died

back.

bom

French painter,

prize

side. First in the

in 1703,

he

left

in

competition

for Venice

when

was not awarded. Frederick

moned him
1711, he

Academy exhiHe decorated

part in

to 1769.

monuments and churches

in

Lyons.

Polish

court,

painter

worked

Vienna and, from 1760 to 1780,

in

to

exhibited in England.

in

works

in Paris

the

He

also

showed

his

and became the painter

to

the

Marie-Antoinette. His very disperse talents


II

sum-

ranged over landscapes, seascapes, genre

to the Prussian court where, in

was appointed

in Paris.

He was

paintings

and

flowers.

principal painter.
water-colourist, designer

He was

He was

also

and engraver.

highly successful there as a por-

painter and then went to Dessau in

trait

1715 and Dresden in 1718. In 1723 and

Piranesi,

1724 he went through Paris to London. At


Italian

the

from 1741

French painter, born and died


died

Paris,

in

Son of the painter Thomas Pesne


and a relative of Charles de Lafosse on his

Rome

He took

Boucher.
bitions

Pillement, Jean (1728-1808)

Berlin.

mother's

in

public

Pesne, Antoine (1683-1757)

request of Frederick the Great he

carried out the decorations for Charlot-

tenburg,

Potsdam and Sans-Souci.

Piazzetta, Giambattista (1682-1754)

Italian painter,

Was

bom

and died

a pupil of Antonio

worked

in

in Venice.

Molinari.

named

He

Bologna where he came under

the influence of Crespi. In 1750 he


first

was

director of the Venice Aca-

demy. He painted frescoes


of Saints John and Paul
186

bom

under

Amsterdam.

Santo church

in

Padua.

in

in the

church

Venice and the

Giovanni Battista (1720-78)

engraver and architect,

Mozano

di

Mestre. died

in

bom

at

Rome. He

studied archaeology and architecture with


the architect-engineer Lucchesi. In

he

left

for

Rome

1738

to study architecture,

-EJ
Quillard, Pierre-Antoine (1701-33)

painting and engraving. Later he went to

bom

Venice to earn a living as an architect.

French painter, disciple of Watteau,

There he worked on painting with Tiepolo

in

and Polanzani. After a sojourn in Naples,

Portugal he became painter to the court

made drawings

Piranesi

at

Herculaneum,

Paris, died in Lisbon.

Painting.

wards he published numerous engravings

the

Rome.

to

and member of the Lisbon Academy of

Pompeii and Paestum. From 1750 on-

in

Summoned

One of

ceiling

his

which

best-known works
he

painted

for

is

the

Queen's bedchamber.

Quinckhardt, Jan Maurits (1688-1772)


Pittoni,

Giovanni Battista (1687-1767)

Italian historical painter,

Was

Venice.

born and died

in

the pupil of his uncle Fran-

cesco Pittoni, but later

came under

the

influence of Balestra, then Tiepolo, Sebas-

tiano Ricci

and Pompeo Battoni. He be-

came

president of the

polo

in

1758.

Academy

of religious

consists

after Tie-

great part of his

work

Dutch painter, bom near Cleves, died in


Amsterdam. He was a pupil of Arnold
van Boonen and worked in Utrecht and
Amsterdam. Quinckhardt painted portraits and mythological and allegorical
subjects. The Amsterdam Rijksmuseum
has a large number of his paintings.

and mythological

subjects.

Procaccini,

Italian

bom

Andrea (1671-1734)

painter,

engraver and architect,

Rome,

died at San Ildefonso.

in

Studied under Carlo Maratta and worked


in the style

of his master.

protege of

Pope Clement XI, he carried out several


works in Rome churches, particularly in
Saint-John Lateran.

about

1720 by

Summoned

King

Philip V,

to Spain

he was

appointed painter of the King's chamber.

He remained in Spain until he died, and


was responsible for the decoration of
numerous churches and palaces in that
country.

187

Restout, Jean (1692-1768)

Ramsay, Allan (1713-84)

French painter,

bom

Rouen, died

in

in

and nephew of Jouvenet. He


prize in Rome and had a great

Paris, pupil

English portraitist and essayist, born in

won

Edinburgh, died at Dover. Studied

vogue as

London and Edinburgh, then

in

in

Rome

first

and Naples, where he was a pupil of

sor in

Solimena. In London, where he settled

1760 and chancellor

in

1739, he was court painter to King


George IIL Ramsay was a portraitist of

at the

He was made

historical painter.

member of the Academy


1733, rector in

in 1720, profes-

1752, director in

in 1761.

He

exhibited

Salon from 1737 to 1763.

renown.
Reynolds, Sir Joshua (1723-92)

bom

English portrait painter,

Ranc, Jean (1674-1735)

Devon, died

ton,

in

at

Plymp-

London. From 1740

Reynolds worked as apprentice to the


French painter, born

in Montpellier, died

Thomas Hudson.

portraitist
in

Madrid; son of a painter, Antoine Ranc.

became a pupil of the Royal


Academy in Paris, where he met Hyacinthe
Rigaud, whose niece he married. Admitted
to the Academy in 1 703 he was approved
In 1697, he

went

1724

Philip

V summoned him

Madrid where he painted portraits of the


royal family. His works are mainly to be
found

in the

Prado.

1749 he
in

Rome

of the old masters by copying their works.

On

his

retum

London

to

1752 he

in

set

himself up as portrait painter. Three years

he painted a Portrait of Commodore

later

to

In

and spent two years

to familiarise himself with the techniques

as a history painter the following year.


In

to Italy

Keppel which
society.

From

won him

a claim in high

then on he received numer-

ous commissions, and

his paintings sold at

a high price, enabling him to begin an

important collection of art objects, paintings

and drawings.

Eight years

in Paris.

Ranc,

Studied

became

then

Boullongne

Academy

first prize,

the

pupil

1704 he

after

Academy

in

1717.

He

figures.

with a handful of artists

Royal Academy, whose statutes were

to

be the same as those of the Royal Aca-

the

demy of Paris. He was elected President of


the Royal Academy and, between 1769

in Venice.

painted fetes

and

later,

of sufficient reputation, he founded the

Bon

he was admitted to

galantes, fantasy subjects

188

of

won

which he passed

Rome and two

in Paris in 1714,

died

Montpellier with

in Paris. In

three years in

Back

in Montpellier,

first in

founded the

Society of Artists, where he exhibited.

Raoux, Jean (1677-1734)


French painter, born

In 1760 he

allegorical

and 1790, composed and delivered the

famous

fifteen Discourses

great

portraits

George

III

were

on Art. His

those

of

last

King

and Queen Charlotte, which he

painted in 1779. Towards the end of his

Reynolds painted mythological or

life

allegorical subjects.

England

permanently

settled

On

1728.

until

he

return

his

where he

in Venice,

painted mainly easel paintings.

Ribera (Juan Vicente de)


Richardson, Samuel (1689-1761)

who worked

Spanish painter

18th century.

the

Madrid in
1725 he was ap-

In

in

pointed Assessor of Paintings by the Castille

Council.

He

painted religious subjects

for the Archbishop's Palace in

Ricci,

Madrid.

English

writer,

born

the

in

county of

Derby, whose work greatly influenced


that of Diderot

son

may

and Rousseau. Richard-

be regarded as the creator of the

modern English novel. Among his chief


works were The History of Clarissa Marlowe, Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded and The

Marco (1676-1729)

History of Sir Charles Grandison.

born

Italian painter,

Venice,
Ricci.

nephew and

He worked

in

in Belluno,

died in

pupil of Sebastiano

Rome

where he was

noticed as a painter of landscapes and


perspectives. Preceding his uncle, he
to

England

as great as

in 1710; his success there

had been

it

in

Rome.

Rigaud, Hyacinthe (1659-1743)

went

was

French painter, born


Paris.

In 1730

At

in

Perpignan, died

Montpellier, where he remained for four

he published a collection of etchings in


years,

making copies

Pezet. After four years in


in Paris in

won

the

first

1681 and the following year


prize for painting at the Paris

Royal Academy. He established himself


as a portraitist

Italian painter,

born

died in Venice. In 1674 he was a pupil of

Federigo Cervelli in Venice and then,

the

He

in

Duke of Parma.

protection of the

Modena, Parma, Milan and

Bergamo, then stayed


years.

he

Summoned

decorated

Back

in

Florence for the


In

in

Regent and

princi-

Louis XIV, then to the

finally to

Louis XV.

approved by the Academy


ted as a

member

in 1710,

and rector and director

Rigaud,

who was

in 1687,

He was

in 1685,

made

admit-

professor
in 1733.

raised to the peerage in

1709, enjoyed world-wide fame.

Venice for three

Schonbrunn

he decorated

Palace.

palaces

in

Robert, Hubert (1733-1808)

Grand Duke of Tuscany.

1718 he was admitted to the Royal

Academy

painter to

to the court of Vienna,

the

Italy

in

pal

enjoyed

After the latter's death in 1694, Ricci went


to Florence,

and rapidly became

at Cividal di Belluno,

1682, he studied in Bologna.

workshop of
Lyons he arrived

in the

Venice.

Ricci, Sebastiano (1659-1734)

in

the age of fourteen he went to

Paris

and

later

worked

in

French painter, born and died

Made

his

debut as a painter

in

Paris.

in 1753.

The

189

Hubert Robert
Festival at the Villa Medici,
Paris,

Rome

Louvre

following year the Count of Stainville, the


future

Duke of Choiseul, was named am-

bassador to the Holy See and took Robert


with him to

Rome,

When

freed several

months

later

he and

Fragonard were named curators of the


future Central

Museum

of Arts.

entering him in the

French Academy which was directed by

was influenced by
Panini and Piranesi. At a time when the
research and theories of Winckelmann
There

Natoire.

were

he

antiquity

restoring

to

fashion,

Hubert Robert became a painter of ruins

and Natoire encouraged him

met Fragonard, with

whom

in this.

He

he stayed at

Rokotov, Fjodor(<:. 1735-1808)

Russian

Was

portraitist, died in St Petersburg.

a pupil of Pietro Rotari

He

Le Lorrain.
Peter

III in

Catherine
nobility

painted

and of

L.-J.

portrait

of

1762 and several portraits of

II.

He worked

for the Russian

and the imperial family.

Romney, George (1734-1802)

bom

English painter,

T^ iF^ffe^.-"^
Non

With Gainsborough

and Reynolds, Romney formed the great


trio which installed English portrait paint-

then in Naples and Paestum. In July 1675

Son of a cabinet-maker, Romney


worked from the age of ten to twenty-one

he went back

in

the house of the

Abbe

to

St

Paris

after

in

Rome,

spending

He painted from the


had made in Italy. In 1766 he

ing.

father's

his

father

sketches he

Edward

Madame

GcofTrin.

moved through
his canvases.

tion he

Paris

For forty years he

making sketches

for

suspect under the Revolu-

was arrested on what

the revolu-

new calendar showed as the eighth


day of the second month of the year II.
tionary

he

set

workshop.

Steele, at

himself up

Kendal.
in this

painter. In 1762 he

from

In

1755

his

had him apprenticed to the painter

eleven years in Italy.

was approved by and admitted to the


Academy. The King commanded from
him an overmantel for the Chateau de
Meudon. At the same time he exhibited at
the Salon; criticism was favourable and
his canvases from then on were sought
after. He was received at the house of
the Duke of Choiseul and the salon of

190

ness, died at Kendal.

Dalton-in-Fur-

at

1763

until

went

Two

town
to

years later
as portrait

London and

1772 exhibited at the

Society of Artists and the Free Society. In

1764 he went to France where he met


Vernet. In 1773 he was in Italy.

Two

years

later

he returned to London where his

rival

Reynolds was jealous of

his success.

He drove himself to work very hard; tired


and ill, Romney returned to his family
home at Kendal in 1799 and died several
years later of a cerebral haemorrhage.

National Gallery

number of his

in

London has

portraits.

The

a large

E. Ficquet, after de

La Tour

Portrait of Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Engruving

demy

Roslin, Alexander (1718-93)

with

Swedish painter, born

at

Malmoe, died

in

Paris. After spending five years from 1747

to 1752 in Italy, he set himself

and was highly

as a portraitist

with a large following

married a young

among Men.

1756 he stayed at the

Marie-

1770 and exhibited at the Salon the

first

It

a scandal. Rousseau went back to

and was reconverted

Suzanne Giroust. He was admitted to the


Academy in 1753. His wife was approved
in

Origin of Inequality

in Paris

artist,

won

who

d'Epinay,

and

to

caused

Geneva

Calvinism.

In

home of Madame

discharged him the follow-

Rousseau quarrelled with Dide-

ing year.
rot

prize

In 1775 he wrote Discourse on the

successful,

up

among women. He

pastel

competition, and

it.

replied to

clopaedia

with

an

article in the

famous

Ency-

Letter

to

d'Alemhert on Entertainment (1758).

He

his

following year. After the death of his wife,

retired to

Montmorency where he wrote

Sweden where he
stayed for several years. In 1774 he was
elected a member of the Stockholm Academy. A number of portraits he painted

Nouvelle

Heloise

are in the Louvre in Paris, the Hermitage

Publication of Emile (1762) resulted in

Leningrad and the Stockholm Museum.

Rousseau being banned from Paris and

Roslin

in

returned

to

(Julia,

or

the

New

Heloise) (1761), and in 1762 appeared his

Social Contract, the sequel to an article


written

in

1753

for

the

Encyclopaedia.

Rotari,Pietro( 1 707-62)

Italian painter,

St Petersburg.

bom

at

He was

Verona, died in

a pupil of Antonio

Balestra and, from 1727,

worked

in

Rome

with Trevisani. After stays in Vienna and

Dresden he became principal painter


the

to

Empress of Russia.

Rousseau, Jean-Jacques (1712-78)

French-language writer, born

in

Geneva,

died at Ermenonville. After several years

of a vagabond

life

he went to stay at the

home of Madame de Warens from 732


1

to

1740,

where he read and studied music. In

1741

he went to try his luck in Paris,

Switzerland.

He took

refuge in Motiers,

where he met Voltaire. He frequented the

stayed there three years and finally was

Salons and was associated with the Ency-

hunted out by the inhabitants. After a stay

clopaedia. In 1750 he wrote Discourse on

in

the Sciences

and Arts for a Dijon Aca-

London, where he argued with Hume,

Rousseau

settled

permanently

in Paris in

Thomas Rowlandson

Gabriel-Jacques de Saint-Aubin

Cheyne Walk

Drawing

London, London Museum

Lille

770.

He completed

his Confessions,

lished after his death,

pub-

and from 1772

to

1776 wrote his Reveries d'un Promeneur

March 1777 he was

solitaire. In

stay in a cottage provided by

Museum

invited to

Madame

Saint-Aubin (Gabriel-Jacques de)


(1724-80)

de

Girardin at Ermenonville, where he died.

He

also painted

illustrate

some water-colours

to

Botanical Dictionary, pub-

his

lished in 1808.

Rowlandson,

Thomas

Painter, engraver

and died
first

in

tuition

(1756-1827)

and

caricaturist,

born

London. After receiving his


at the Royal Academy, Row-

landson went to Paris where, at the age of


sixteen, he entered the

Royal Academy

French painter and engraver, born and

London
Royal Academy.

died in Paris. Son of an embroiderer, he

school. In 1775 he returned to

and exhibited

at

Inheriting a fortune

the

from an aunt

he began frequenting

in Paris,

London gaming-

was a pupil at the Royal Academy where


he drew under the direction of Jeaurat,
Colin de Vermont and Boucher, but never

houses.

won

practically all artistic

Saint-Aubin made a number of etchings

tures,
in this

By about 1782 he had given up


work except caricawhich paid well. It was particularly
type of art that he excelled.

better than a second prize (1750).

and oil paintings, but it was particularly


numerous drawings and engravings of
Parisian life that made him famous. His

his

works are

in the

Louvre and Camavalet

Museums.

St Non, Richard (Abbe) (1727-91)

French designer and engraver, born and


died in Paris. His family placed him in

Holy Orders
tion,

but. not certain of his voca-

he obtained a post as clerical adviser

to the Paris Parliament. Exiled to Poitiers,

he devoted himself to engraving between


1752 and 1757. In
Paris

192

and resigned

England he went

1759 he returned to

his post. After a trip to

to

Rome and became

with

friendly

and

Fragonard

Hubert

Robert. Back in Paris he and a group of

produced Picturesque Journey

artists

to

Naples and Sicily (1781-6), a publication


in five

volumes with 542 plates of etchings.

developed a great but hopeless passion.

From

their friendship

dence

remains correspon-

of curious details. Becoming

full

Madame du

blind in 1753,

Deffand took

Mademoiselle de Lespinasse as a reader;

from 1764 the


in

rue

the

latter

opened her own salon


This salon,

de Bellechasse

meeting-place for those connected with

Salon

the Encyclopaedia, represented the

The French

artists'

Salon takes

its

name

tic

from the Salon Carre of the Louvre where

were held

was held regularly every two years from 1737. At first


only artists approved by the Academy

Necker held a

of Claude-Adrien Helvetius,
to Auteuil,

in

were able to exhibit

intellectuals

and

exhibitions were held.

participation

was

It

there,

but in 1791

roman-

and ardent element. Atheist meetings


in the

Baron d'Holbach's

political salon.

salon.

The widow

who

retired

1771 opened a salon for

who had

artists

shared

the philosophical theories of her late hus-

freed.

band. Bonaparte, returning from Egypt,

Madame

visited this salon.

The Salons
the

In

Louis

final

XIV

years

of

the ruins of the court.

It

reign

the

the salons were

of

formed out of

was through them

d'Epinay,

who

was the patron of Rousseau, also held a


salon and left some interesting Memoirs.
Bachaumont presided over the salon of
Madame Doublet, which was held at the
Convent of the Daughters of St. Thomas.

that writers of the 18th century were able


to

an influence on

exert

salon had

its

own

society.

Each

character and habitues.

At the " court " of Sceaux the Duchess du


Maine represented the need for amusement which made itself felt towards the
end of the reign of Louis XIV. Mademoiselle

de Launay, her assistant, paints a

picture of this salon in her Memoirs.

The

salon of the Marquise de Lambert in the

Mazarin Palace represented the


of

Madame

Geoffrin

in

the

and

dame du

its

philosophers; but

Deffand's salon

it

Italian painter,

born

at

(1690-c. 1772)

Cesena. In 1721 he

established himself in Spain where he

painter to

King

Two

Philip V.

was

of his

works, Fou (Lunatic) and Mendiant (Beggar), are in the

Prado

Madrid.

in

The
rue

Saint-Honore was that of the Encyclopaedia

Domenico Maria

revival of

the spirit of 17th-century refinement.

salon

Sani,

Santerre, Jean-Baptiste

65

7 1 7)

was Ma-

in the rue Saint-

Dominique which best personified the


sceptical mind of the 18th century. There
she met Horace Walpole for whom she

French

portraitist

and

historical painter,

Magny-en-Vexin and died

born

at

Paris.

He was

in

a pupil of Francois Lemaire

and of Bon Boullongne. Admitted

to the

193

Portrait of Schiller

Engraving

Academy

in

1704,

he exhibited at the

Salon the same year.

Academy

for

women

He founded an

at Versailles,

particular painted portraits

and

in

and genre.

with Goethe. Goethe's Wilhelm Meister


in Die Horen and
two writers published poems

appeared

in

1796 the

in the jour-

gave up the publi-

nal. Schiller eventually

cation in order to complete his Wallenstein (1796-9).

At Weimar he wrote Maria

Maid of Orleans
went to Berlin, and a

Stuart (1800) and The

Schiller (Friedrich von) (1759-1805)

(1801). In 1802 he

German

writer,

born

at

Marbach. In 1773

he entered the Military Academy to study


law.

He

year after completing William Tell

in

804

he died at the age of forty-five.

finished his studies in 1780 as a

doctor at Stuttgart, but was a poor exponent of the profession. In 1782 he published

The Robbers. In 1787 he wrote Don

Scott,

Samuel (1703-72)

Carlos and two years later was appointed


professor of history at the University of
Jena. In this period he wrote The Thirty

Years

War

thetic

Education

then his Letters on the Aes-

printed in 1795.

of Man,

From

where he met the

whom

he founded

the literary publication Die Horen.


this

were

1793 to 1794 he was

in the Stuttgart district

publisher Gotta, with

which

From

English painter, born


Bath.

He was

in

London, died

in

a close friend of Hogarth.

Scott painted marine subjects which were

a great success.

He was

considered one of

the leading British water-colourists.

exhibited

from 1761

Artists, the

Academy

the

at

He

Society of

Free Society and at the Royal

in

London.

time dates his literary collaboration

Sedaine, Michel- Jean (1719-97)

French poet, born

in

Paris.

wrote a serious drama.


Philosopher.

He

In

1765 he

The Unwitting

also wrote

The Unex-

pected Wager and some pieces for the

Opera-Comique. He was

member of the

French Academy.

Servandoni, Jean-Nicolas (1695-1766)

Painter and architect, born in Florence,

died in Paris.

194

He

studied painting under

Jean-Paul Painsic at Piacenza and archi-

Portrait of Servandoni
Paris, National Library

Jeune (Louis de) (1675-1760)

Silvestre le

French painter,
Paris. First

Silvestre,

Israel

bom

Sceaux, died

at

from Charles Le

then

Bon Boullongne.

Brun and
worked in

Italy with

Academy

Later

he

Carlo Maratti. Re-

member of

turning to Paris he became a


the Royal

in

took lessons from his father

in 1702, professor in

and director in 1752.


was appointed first painter to

1706, rector in 1748


In 1724 he

the Court of Dresden


director of the

and

Dresden Academy. He

decorated the royal palace


several

rooms

1727 became

in

Warsaw and

in

palace at

in the elector's

Zwinger. Silvestre exhibited at the Paris


Salons of 1704, 1750 and 1757.

lecture under Jean-Joseph Rossi in

Rome.

Snyers, Peter (1681-1752)

After a stay in Portugal he went to Paris,

where he was a great success. His masterpiece,

which he

left

incomplete, was the

facade of the church of Saint-Sulpice in


Paris. In 1731 he

became a member of the

Royal Academy.

In

1749

he

went

to

London where he married. Later he visited Dresden and Vienna. He exhibited at


the Salon

from 1737

festivals

won

He was

bom

and died

in

Ant-

a pupil of Alexander van

Bredael in 1694. In 1705 he was a master


in Brussels

and

in

1707

in

Antwerp. He

painted numerous portraits of the peerage


in

England.

to 1765. His sceno-

graphies and decorations for the big public

Flemish painter,
werp.

Solimena, Francisco (1657-1747)

acclaim for Servandoni

throughout Europe.

Italian painter
litan

school.

and architect of the NeapoSon and pupil of Angelo

Solimena. In 1647 he continued his studies


Silva (Joao Chrisostome Policarpo da)
(c.

1734-98)

in

Naples, then worked

the

in

born

in

priest,

sculptor and painter,

Merceana, died

in

Lisbon; was a

series

of frescoes

in

Rome

Summoned

giore).

Philip

gious pictures and sculpted statues for

for the

Chapel Royal

Lisbon churches.

trained a great

pupil of Jose de Almeida. Painted

reli-

copying

works of Pietro da Cortona, Guido

Reni and Carlo Maratti.


Portuguese

Rome

in 1702,

to

He
(S.

painted a

Paolo Mag-

Spain

by

he painted several
in

King
works

Madrid. Solimena

number of painters.

195

Stubbs, George (1724-1806)

English painter, born in Liverpool, died in

Taraval, Guillaume-Thomas-Raphael

London. He worked alone,

(1701-50)

1754, then settled in

Italy in

travelled in

London

in

Society

of

French painter, born

in

Stockholm.

1760.

He

Artists

from 1761 and became president

exhibited

at

the

1773. In 1766 he published an important

work, Anatomy of the Horse. He was


admitted to the Academy in 1781. Stubbs

Was

of Frangois

Lemoine. At the request of the Swedish


ambassador in Paris, he left for Stockholm, where he worked until his death.

The Stockholm Museum has

painted mainly horses and dogs.

died in

Paris,

in

pupil

several of his

genre paintings and animal subjects.

Suvee, Joseph-Benoit (1743-1807)

Thomhill, James (1675-1734)

bom

in Bruges, died in

as master

Mathias de Visch.

Flemish painter,

Rome. Had

He went
lier
1

and entered the

771 he

under Bache-

to France, studied

won

the

St

Luke Academy. In

Rome prize and he stayed

in Italy for six years.

Returning to Paris

in

1778 he became a

member of

demy

1792 he was elected

in

In

1780.

the Aca-

Rome Academy but took


up the post only in 1801. He transferred
the Academy from the Mancini Palace to

director of the

English painter, a pupil of

more.

He

visited

Holland. Queen

Thomas High-

Flanders, France and

Anne commissioned him

to decorate the cupola of Saint-Paul's,

and he decorated Greenwich hospital and


other different monuments in London. He

and made some


He was both master and father-

also painted altar-pieces


etchings.

in-law of Hogarth.

the Villa Medici.

Tiepoloi Giambattista (1696-1770)

Swift,

Jonathan (1667-1745)

Italian painter,

born

in

Venice, died in

Madrid. Tiepolo came from a rich family.


Irish writer,

born and died

in

Dublin.

He

London, where he was an


important figure in literary and political
life. His pamphlets on the Irish question
made him extremely popular in Ireland.
Apart from Gulliver's Travels (1726) he
wrote the Drapicr's Letters and Tale of a
passed his

Tub.

196

life in

Swift,

hopeless

hypochondriac,

spent the last few years of his

life

insane.

His father, a naval captain, died

in 1697.

pupil of Gregorio Lazzarini, Tiepolo

also

was influenced

by

Piazzetta

and

Sebastiano Ricci. In 1721 he married the


sister

of Francesco Guardi: she bore him

several children, of whom

two were paint-

Gian Domenico and Lorenzo. Tiepolo worked in Venice and Venetia for
twenty years. In 1733 he was in Bergamo.

ers.

Gaspare Traversi

Giambattista Tiepolo

Musical Enlcriammi'nl

Golffotha (detail)

Vierhouten, Boymans-Van Beuningen

Museum

Genoa, Private Collection

spent two years in Russia (1757) and in

1759 lived in Denmark. With Largilliere,


Tocque was one of the favourite painters

of the high society of his day. His

influ-

ence on the painters of foreign countries

he visited was considerable: he taught

Nordic painters the

secret of

French

ele-

gance.

Traversi,

Gaspare (died 1769)

Italian painter,

born

in

Naples. Painted

several altar-pieces for churches in

Rome

and Parma. His works may be found


in

1737 near Vienna and in 1740

From

in

Milan.

1750 to 1753 he carried out one of

museums of Milan, Rome,


Provence, Rouen and Strasbourg.
the

in

Aix-en-

most important works, the decoration

his

of the archbishop's palace at Wurzburg.


After that he returned to Venetia and

worked

moned him

to

two sons

his

to decorate the royal palace

with frescoes.
until

King Charles III sumSpain, where he went with

until 1761.

He remained

the end of his

his old

life,

Madrid

in

embittered

in

age by rivalry with Mengs. Venetia

in frescoes by Tiepolo. For his


works he often made sketches in oils,
is

rich

explaining

be found.

why his canvases are often to


He also painted genre and left

drawings and etchings.


Troost, Cornelis (1697-1750)

Tocque, Louis (1696-1772)

French

Was

portraitist,

born and died

a pupil of Nicolas Bertin

cinthe Rigaud.

Academy

He was
From

in 1734.

sent fifty portraits to the


tions. In

the

in Paris.

and Hya-

admitted to the
1737 to 1759 he

Academy

exhibi-

1740 he painted the portrait of

Dauphin and of Marie Leczinska. He

Dutch painter, born and died in Amsterdam. Was a pupil of Arnold Van Booncn.

He used

a special technique for painting,

part water-colour, part pastel.


portraits, genre scenes

He made

and paintings of

The greater part of his


Amsterdam and The Hague

historical subjects.

work is in
museums.

the

197

Van Loo
Nude Study

Carle

Algiers, Fine Arts

Troy (Frangois de) (1645-1730)


French painter, born

He

Paris.

sor

He was

Louis

in 1675,

XIV

Munich

to

admitted to the

was appointed profes-

and

1693

in

in

Van Loo, Charles-Amedee

(1719-95)

rapidly gained a reputation as a

portrait painter.

Academy

Toulouse, died

in

Museum

director

1708.

in

ordered him to the court of


paint

portrait

He

Christine of Bavaria.

of Marie-

painted numer-

and

Portraitist

born

genre-painter,

in

Turin, died in Paris.

He became

of the Academy

1747 and professor

1770.

in

He was principal

member
in

painter to the King

of Prussia and exhibited at the Salon from


1747 to 1785.

ous portraits of celebrated people.

Van Loo, Carle

(1705-65)

Troy (Jean-FranQois de) (1679-1752)


French painter, born

Rome. Was
de Troy.

demy

in

Paris,

died in

the son and pupil of Frangois

He

studied at the Royal Aca-

school then spent

six

years in Italy

(1699-1705). Returning to Paris he

admitted to the
rapidly

became

Academy

in

was

1708; he

the fashionable painter

and decorated a number of princely mansions.

He

carried out

works

for the Paris

churches and the royal residences. In 1738


he became director of the French Aca-

demy

in

Rome.

Brother of Charles-Amedee and the most

famous of the Van Loo brothers. He was


born in Nice of a line of painters of Dutch
descent. Brought

up by

his father, then in

the service of the Prince of Piedmont, he


travelled

in

In

Italy.

painter-laureate prize in

turned to
198

Rome

in

won
Rome. He

1724 he

the
re-

1727 with Boucher.

Until 1731 he stayed in Turin where he

decorated
Sardinia.
the

palace

the

King of

of the

he was admitted

1735

In

Academy and

in

Verbruggen, Caspar Pieter (1664-1730)

to

1748 was placed

in

Flemish painter, born and died

in

Ant-

charge of the Academy's aided pupils.

werp. Studied with his father. In 1667 he

Painter to the King in 1762 he achieved a

was a master at Antwerp and in 1691 was


doyen of the Guild. He worked in The

considerable success despite his legendary


lack

of culture and

worked on

the

his

He

stupidity.

Chateau de Bellevue, the

church of Saint-Sulpice and, from 1746 to


painted

1755,

seven

canvases

Hague from 1706

to

1723 and was a

member of The Hague Academy in


He trained numerous pupils there.

1708.

the

for

church of Notre-Dame-des-Victoires.
Verhagen, Pierre-Jean-Joseph

Flemish historical painter, born

Van Loo, Jean-Baptiste (1648-1745)

schot, died

French painter, born and died at Aix. He


was the son of Louis Van Loo and became
his pupil.

He

rapidly

made

his reputation

and por-

specialising in historical subjects


traits.

He worked

in turn for the families

of Savoy and Monaco,

in Nice,

Turin and

Rome. He became a member of the Academy in 722 and received orders from the
1

Regent.

He

lery at

Fontainebleau and also painted

restored the Frangois

religiously-inspired

He

pictures.

painted numerous portraits

in

in

Aer-

Louvain. Studied at the

in

Antwerp Academy. Was at first a protege


of the Empress Maria Theresa then, in
1771, painter to the Prince of Lorraine.

He

travelled in France

and

Italy

and was

painter to the court of Vienna in 1773. In

1800 he founded a fine arts school

Louvain and was

its

in

works
Averbode and

director. His

are in churches in Louvain,

Bois-le-Duc.

Gal-

also

Vernet, Joseph (1714-89)

London,

where he spent four years from 1738

to

French landscapist and marine painter,

born

1742.

in

Avignon, where he studied under

his father, died in Paris.

At Aix he began

career as decorator and painter of seascapes.

Van Loo, Louis-Michel (1707-71)

the

He went

to Italy in 1734 aided

by

Marquis de Caumont. In 1743 he was


to the St Luke Academy in

admitted
Historical painter
Paris,

in 1725.

in Spain,

King.

first

prize at the Aca-

He worked

in

Rome, then

Rome and

in

1746 was approved by the

Academy

in Paris.

Scenes of

Roman

ful.

From

1745 to 1750 his

Life were highly success-

Between 1750 and 1753 he stayed

in

painter to the

Marseilles and painted shipwrecks. At this

the Salon from 1753

time he received a commission for four-

where he was

He exhibited at

to 1769.

portraitist, died in

brother of Carle and Charles-

Amedee. He won

demy

and

first

teen

paintings on

the

ports of Franco

199

Elisabeth Vigee-Lebrun
Portrait of the Duchess Elisahelh Alexievna

Montpellier

Museum

through the Marquis of Marigny, Direc-

Rome,

painting

pictures

tor-General of Fine Arts and brother of

Back

France

Madame

the

Pompadour.

de

permanently

settled

was named adviser

he

1753

In

and

in Paris

in

1766

Academy.

to the

in

Academy
He

in

churches.

for

750 he was admitted to

1754 with the support of

in

numerous pupils,
including Suvee. Vincent and
Louis
David. In 1755 he was named director of
Boucher.

the

Rome

trained

School where he succeeded

Vieira de Matos, Francesco

Natoire; he held the post until 1782.


(called Lusitano) (1699-1783)

his return to

a pension. Vien

Portuguese painter, born and died

in Lis-

bon. Studied under Trevisani

Rome.

in

King John V of Portugal commanded


numerous pictures from him and he
painted a great

many

pictures

the

for

churches and convents of Lisbon. The


year

755 was disastrous for the

earthquake destroyed
his wife died in the

many

same

An

artist.

of his works;

year.

From

then

on he renounced painting and spent


rest

of his

life

devoted to

religion.

The

Vieira Portuense, Francesco (1765-1806)

French painter, born and died

She was sent


age.

to a

in

Madeira.

He

in

Oporto, died

studied in Italy and lived

England.

He

exhibited at the

Royal Academy from 1789 to 1799. In


Lisbon he was the King's painter. His

works may be seen

in the

Lisbon

Museum

and the Parma Pinacoteca.

Vien, Joseph-Marie (1716-1809)

French historical painter, born


pellier.

became
school.

200

Rome

died

in Paris.

He went

Mont-

to Paris

a pupil of Natoire at the


In

in

and

Academy

1743 he was a pupil at the

School;

he

spent

five

convent

at a

in Paris.

very young

but her father withdrew her and

taught her the use of pastels. In 1774 she

was approved by the St Luke Academy


and rapidly acquired a good reputation as
a portraitist. After her marriage to the art
dealer Lebrun in 1776. she
to Marie-Antoinette,

exhibit at the Salon

years

in

became painter

which allowed her

travelled

to

from 1783. The Aca-

her the same year.

the Revolution began she

and

afterwards

buried in the Pantheon.

Vigee-Lebrun, Elisabeth (1755-1842)

demy admitted

in

is

the

museums of Lisbon and Oporto have


some of his works.

Portuguese painter, born

On

France the King granted him

throughout

left

for

When
Rome

Europe.

She

arrived in St Petersburg, where her repu-

Voltaire (Franpois-Marie Arouet,

had preceded her, and stayed in the


Russian court from 1795 to 1802. She

as) (1694-1778)

tation

returned to Paris and then spent two years


in

Italy.

she

Banned

during

for Switzerland

left

Madame

de

Stael.

Under

the

Empire,

where she met


the Restoration

she occupied an important place in the


arts;

Balzac, Vernet

among

those

who

and Gavarni were

frequented her salon.

French writer, born

mind and

his

among the writers


the one who held the

longevity, Voltaire was,

of the 18th century,

most important place


debut into

letters

de Rohan, which landed him

Bastille, Voltaire
in

His

time.

his

in

came with CEdipus

1719. Following a brush with the


lier

Vincent, Francois- Andre (1746-1816)

Because of

in Paris.

the great universality of his

known

was forced

in

Chevain the

to seek refuge

England and spent three years there


This stay

(1726-9).

in

England was of

decisive importance in the development of

French

historical painter,

born and died

He was a pupil of Vien at the


Royal Academy. He won the first prize for

in Paris.

painting in 1767 and passed three years at


the

Rome Academy,

where Natoire was

Voltaire's literary, philosophical


tical

it

Paris

he

published

Academy in 1782 and


became a professor ten years later. He was
highly successful and was a rival of David.
He exhibited at the Salon from 1777 to
1801 and had numerous pupils.

sciences.

Brutus

and

Zaire

Madame

Chatelet, he turned his attention to the

From

Prussia, but

went

same period date


King Frederick II of

the

his relations with

was only in 1750 that he


Potsdam court. It was not

it

to the

long, however, before he found this stay

unbearable and he

left

Delices, an estate near

Berlin in 1753 for

Geneva, and

at Ferney, in the region of

Vivien, Joseph (1657-1734)

poli-

return to

his

(1732) and then, influenced by

du

and

he produced his

On

Philosophical Letters.

then director. Returning to Paris he was

admitted to the

During

ideas.

Gex.

He

later

passed

his last years there, exercising a veritable

sovereignty over European thought.

French

portraitist

Lyons, died

in

Charles Le Brun

and

pastellist,

in

Was a pupil of
Paris. He was very

Bonn.
in

successful as a portrait painter

came known

born

as the " French

and be-

Van Dyck

".

His reputation soon spread throughout

Europe. In

701 he

was admitted

to the

Academy. Vivien spent part of his life in


Germany where he was painter to the
Elector of Bavaria and worked in Cologne
and Bonn.

He

returned to Paris to an enthusiastic wel-

come
30

in

February

1778

but

died

on

May of the same year. The model for the

narrative story

is

found

in his

Charles XII

(1731), for the political history in The

of Louis XIV {

Age

1751) and for the philosophi-

cal history in

Essay on the Morals and

Spirit

of Nations (1756). His Correspon-

dance

is

a valuable contribution to

know-

ledge of the 18th century.


201

Antoine Watteau

Le Donni'ur de Serenades
Chantilly,

Condc Museum

_E3

the

Watteau, Antoine (1684-1721)

second. Discouraged, he decided to return

French painter, born

Valenciennes,

the journey he sold, through his friend

came

Spoede, a small military painting. Return

to the

Academy

Rome

as a pupil, he entered for

some

to Valenciennes for
at

died at Nogent-sur-Marne. Watteau

from a modest but well-to-do family who


did not oppose his vocation.

1699

Watteau

money,

left

for

Soon

Paris,

after

without

to try his luck there. In 1702, after

came only

1709 but

prize in

time.

To pay

for

Sirois gave him


and ordered another which
earned 200 francs. In 1710 Watteau went
back to Paris with a young artist from

from

Campaign.

the

60 francs for

it

who had no
work as a hack for an
art dealer near Notre-Dame. Earning an
average 12 monthly, he worked all day at
reproducing paintings. About the same

Valenciennes, Jean-Baptiste Pater. Sirois

time he joined Jean-Jacques Spoede, a

30 July 1712. In 1716 he was with Crozat.

young Antwerp artist who was studying at


the Academy. At Mariette's he met a
number of painters, including Claude
Gillot, and lived at the latter's place from
1705 to 1708. But as Watteau soon dis-

Among

a course

with a painter

cHents, he went to

played a talent superior to that of his host,


the two parted.

He

then went to

work

for

Claude Audran, curator of the Luxem-

invited

Watteau

to set

1710 he painted

up with him. About

Island of Cythera,

sketch for Embarkation for the Island of

The Academy approved him on

Cythera.

works owned by this collector


he studied the Flemish and Venetian
the

He

painters.

quickly

left

Crozat, returned

and then set himself up in the rue


Cardinal Lemoine until 1719. In August
1717 the Academy had admitted him on
to Sirois

presentation of his Embarkation. Suffering

from tuberculosis, he

left

London

for

in

who had been recomHe remained in London

burg Palace, and helped him with decora-

1719 to see a doctor

Chateau de la Muette and


Meudon. Audran was instrumental in

mended

allowing Watteau to see the great Rubens

for some time with Gersaint, Sirois's son-

cycle of the Life of Marie de Medici, an

in-law, and painted for him in a single


week the famous Enseigne de Gersaint.

tion of the

important event

in his training.

Admitted

to him.

for a year.

On his return to Paris he stayed

Before long he went to

Watteau seemed

little

Nogent.

live at

by

little

to

become

detached from his work. The priest

Nogent even persuaded him

to

Ill,

burn

at

his

paintings of nudes.

Wilson, Richard (1714-82)


English landscapist. pupil of the portrait
painter
1729.

202

Thomas Wright

On

Zuccarelli

in

his arrival in Italy,

London

in

Francesco

and Joseph Vernet encouraged

him

where he

himself.

for

He

paint landscapes.

to

Rome

built

On

his

up a

stayed in

solid reputation

return

London

to

-S
Zimmermann, Jean-Baptiste (1680-1758)

1755 he received commissions from

in

He was

royalty.

the Royal

founder-member of

Academy.

German
into

fresco painter

writer

and archaeologist,

Stendal (Brandenburg).

whose

a rector

him

to learn

He

bom

in

love

of
his

His

In 1754 his

Italy

was

said

to

and

Zimmermann. The Wies church, of which


Jean-Baptiste painted the ceiling,

is

their

masterpiece.

Zuccarelli, Francesco (1702-88)

important work appeared:

The following
Rome where he became

Painting and Sculpture.

year he went to

librarian to Cardinal Albani.

Some

time

Italian painter,

He

Florence.

bom

at Pitigliano, died in

studied

in

Florence and

Rome.

At

scenes,

then decorative landscapes.

first

he

painted

historical

He

Germany. But hardly had he reached

the

London, where he often


stayed, from 1765, was a member of the
Society of Artists, and in 1768 was one of
the founders of the Royal Academy. One
room of Windsor Castle is entirely fur-

Tyrol when he began to pine for

He

nished with his works. In 1773 Zuccarelli

later

was

(salons of the

Amalienburg

have

Thoughts on the Imitation of Greek Works


in

Munich
the

Dresden Gallery.

conversion to Catholicism.

first

and

with his brother, the architect Dominic

his

became secretary and librarian


Count of Bunau, near Dresden. He

prompted

Cuvillies in

Residence

allowed

well-filled library

in the

France as a

Nymphenburg Palaces). Also collaborated

about antiquity. After

found treasures

in

studied under

studies he
to the

born

Wessobrunn,

decorative painter, then with the architect

German

stuccoist,

in

He worked

died in Munich.

Winckelmann, Johann Joachim (1717-68)

and

an artisan family

he

appointed

Roman

Antiquities;

that he

produced

Art.

In

it

was

Inspector
this

at

his History

of

time

of Antique

1768 he began a journey into

Italy.

exhibited

in

may be
museums of Budapest, Glas-

went on as far as Vienna but then went


back to Trieste and took a boat for

returned to Florence. His works

Ancona. On 8 July of the same year he


was killed by an Italian traveller.

gow, London, Stuttgart and Venice.

seen in the

Witt (Jakob de) (1695-1754)

Dutch painter, born and died in Amsterdam. He was a pupil of Albert Van Spiers.
In 1712 he

Van

worked

in

Antwerp with Jakob

Hal, studied the works of Rubens

and Van Dyck. He decorated churches


and apartments and painted ceilings.

Printed in Italy

Bibliog^raphy

General Works

Italy

G. Beltrami: Magnasco, Milan 1913.


E. Faure: Histoire de
P.-J. Mariette;

I'

Art, vol. IV, Paris 1948.

H. de Chennevieres: Les Tiepolo. Paris 1898.

Abecedario, Paris 1851-60.

G. Fiocco: Francesco Guardi. Florence 1934.

A. Michel: Histoire de I'Art, vol. VII, Paris 1923.


L.

Molmenti: Tiepolo.

P.

Reau: L' Europe francaise au Steele des Lumieres,

la

Vie et I'CEuvre du Peintre,

Paris 1911.

Paris 1938.

V.

A. Schoenberger and H. Soehner: L'Europe du


XVIII' Steele, FArt et la Culture, Paris 1960.

V. Moschini: Longhi, Ed. Martello.

Starobinski: ^Invention de la Liberte (1700-89),

V. Moschini: Guardi, Ed. Martello.

J.

Geneva

1964.

Moschini: La pittura ilaliana del Settecenlo,


Florence 1931.

R. Palluchini: La pittura veneziana del Settecenlo.

Bologna 1952.
O. Uzanne: Les Deux Canaletto. Paris 1906.
A. Venturi: Storia generale

France

dell' Arte italiana.

Milan

1904.

V. Viale: Catalogue

H. Borsch-Supan: Catalogue de I' Exposition


"
Lm Peinturefrancaise du XVIIP Siecle a la Cour de

"

Mostra del Barocco piemon-

tese". Turin 1963.

Eredericir,P&hs 1963.

England

Diderot: Salons.

Goncourt: Catalogue Raisonne de I'CEuvre de


Watteau, Pans 1875.

E. de

E. and J. de Goncourt:
Paris 1859-75.

L'Art du XVIII'' Siecle,

La Peinture

francaise au XVIII' Siecle,

L. Hourticq:

Huyghe and H. Adhemar: Watteau,

Paris 1950.

de Saint-Yenne: Reflexions sur quelques


causes de Felat de la peinture en France, Pans 1752.

A. Leroy: Histoire de

la

Peinture francaise, vol.

Ill,

Paris 1937.
et la Societe fran<:aise

B. Lossky: Catalogue de

" L'Art
franXVIII' Siecles", Paris

Exposition

I'

Europe aux XVII'

et

1958.
B.

Touts 1962.

de Nolhac: Boucher, Paris 1907.

P.

Ratouis de Limay: Le Pastel en France au

Reynolds: Discourses on Art. London 1905.


T. Whitley:

Thomas Gainsborough,

1913.

Other Schools
D. Baud-Bovy: Peintres genevois (2

vols.).

Geneva

Pans

P.

Bautier:

La Peinture beige au XVIII'

XVIIP

1946.

du Colombier: L'Art

fran<;ais

P. Fierens:

Reau: Histoire de T Expansion de

la

dans

les

Cours

L'Art en Belgique. Paris 1939.

F. Fosca: Jean-Etienne Liotard.

Reau: Histoire de

Siecle,

rhenancs. Paris 1930.

I'

Art fran(;ais

(4 vols.), Paris 1924-33.


L.

J.

P.

P.

L.

Siecle,

Paris 1932.

Brussels 1945.

C. Mauclair: Fragonard, Paris 1913.

Siecle,

G. Mourey: La Peinture anglaise du XVIII'

1903.

Lossky: Musee de Tours, Peintures du XVIII'

Siecle,

Histoire de la Peinture anglaise. Paris

G. Mourey: Gainsborough, Pans 1914.

W.

A. Leroy: Quentin de La Tour


du XVIII" Siecle. Paris 1953.

A. Leroy:
1939.

Lafont

fais et

Hogarth, Pans 1904.

Hogarth: Analysis of Beauty, London 1753.

Paris 1939.

R.

F. Benoit:

Graves and Cronin: A History of the Works of Sir


Joshua Reynolds (4 vols.), London 1899-1901.

Peinture francaise au XVIII'

F.

Fosca: Histoire de

la

Geneva

1928.

Peinture Suisse,

Geneva

1945.

K. Garas: Maulbertsch. Vienna 1960.

Siecle (2 vols), Paris 1925.


L.

Reau: Fragonard. Brussels 1956.

G. Schefer: Chardin, Paris 1905.

G. Lundberg: Roslin

G.

M. Osborn: Die Kunst

Seailles:

Watteau. Paris 1921.

M. Tourneux:

204

Lozoya: Historia del arte hispanico.


Barcelona 1945.

Iai

Tour. Paris 1904.

G. Wildenstcin: Chardin. Zunch 1963.

L.

Reau: L'Art

Paris 1922.

rus.se

(3 vols.),

vols.

Malmoe

IV and V.

1957.

des Rokoko. Berlin 1929.

de Pierre

le

Grand a nos

Jours,

List of Illustrations

Page

P&ge
Jean Honore Fragonard
Fantasy figure, called Inspiration
Paris,

Louvre

Pietro Longhi

The Dentist
Venice, Academy

Thomas Gainsborough
Conversation
Paris,

in

a Park

Louvre

10

Hyacinthe Rigaud
Marie Serre, Mother of the
Paris, Louvre

Artist,

c.

1695
12

Museum

13

Louvre

14

Antoine Watteau

The Commedia deH'Arte)

Louvre

Antoine Watteau
Embarkation for Cythera. 1717
Paris, Louvre

Game of Pied-de-bceuf
Berlin, New Palace

c.

Bridge with Women Washing Clothes


Rome. National Gallery of Ancient Art

21

39

40

43

45

Naples, Capodimonte

46

Alessandro Magnasco
Composition, Landscape
Lugano, Vanotti Collection

48

1738
)!

23

Jean-Honore Fragonard
The Two Lovers
Sion, Leopold Rey Collection

25

26

Jean-Baptisle-Simeon Chardin
Lady Sealing a Letter, 1733
Berlin, Charlottenburg Palace

49

Signboard for the Barber Oletta


Bergamo, Carrara Academy

50

Pierrots at Rest

26

Venice,

CaRezzonico

51

Pietro Longhi

Francois Boucher

La Petite Jardiniere
Rome. National Gallery of Ancient Art

Giambattista Tiepolo
The Embarkation
Sketch for fresco in the Labia Palace, Venice
Strasbourg Museum

48

Gian Domenico Tiepolo

Louis-Michel Van Loo


Portrait of Diderot, 1767
Paris, Louvre

Academy

Vittore Ghislandi

Jean-Honore Fragonard
The Ahhe St Non

Modern Art

Giambattista Piazzetta
The Fortune Teller
Venice,

Bacchant Asleep
Paris, Louvre

Chardin
La Pourvoyeuse
Paris. Louvre

Jean-Baptiste Greuze
Portrait of a Little Girl
Rome, National Gallery of Ancient Art

Florence, Cantini Collection

Jean-Honore Fragonard

of

with Violin

Louvre

Alessandro Magnasco
Landscape

21

The

Museum

Still-life

38

Oudry

Giuseppe Maria Crespi


Woman Washing Dishes

Nicolas Lancret

Barcelona.

Louvre

18

Jean-Baptiste-Joseph Pater
Italian Actors in a Park

Louvre

38

Hubert Robert
17

Antoine Watteau
The Faux-Pas (sketch)
Paris, Louvre

Paris,

Louvre

Jean-Baptiste Perronneau
Portrait of Jean-Baptiste Oudry

Paris,

Penitent in the Desert

Paris,

Paris,

Jean-Marc Nattier

Gilles (Pierrot in

37

Elisabeth-Louise Vigec-Lebrun
Portrait of Madame Vigee-Iwhrun and her
Daughter, c. 789

Jean-Baptiste

Portrait of Voltaire

Paris.

36

Maurice Quentin de La Tour


The Negro, 1741
Geneva, Museum of Art and History

Paris,

Nicolas de Largilliere
Versailles

Maurice Quentin dc La Tour


Portrait of Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Geneva, Museum of Art and History

The Perfume Seller


28

Venice,

CaRezzonico

51

Pietro Longhi

33

The Concert, 1741


Venice, Academy

52

35

Antonio Canal, called Canaletto


The Piazzetta in Venice
Ascona, von der Hoyt Collection

54

205

Page

55

Richard Wilson
The Thames at Twickenham
London, Tate Gallery

79

56

George Stubbs
Mares and Foals in a Landscape
London. Tate Gallery

80

Bernardo Bellotto, called Canaletto


Entrance to the Grand Canal in Venice
Private Collection

Gianantonio Guardi
// Ridotto (The Casino)
Venice, Ca'Rezzonico

Anton Graff

Francesco Guardi
Departure of the " Bucentaur "for the
Ascension Day Ceremony

Louvre

Paris,

Portrait of Chamhellan von Beust, 1780

Winterthur, Reinhart Collection


58

Geneva,
61

Francesco Guardi
The Grey iMgoon. 1784-9
Milan, Poldi-Pezzoli Museum

Old

Rome, Rome Museum, Braschi Palace


William Hogarth
Calais Gate
London, National Gallery

Man

of Art and History

Portrait of Frederick

82

//,

King of Prussia

1739-40

Paris,

Furstenburg Collection

85

Francisco Jose de Goya y Lucientes


Boys Climbing a Tree, 79 -2

Giovanni Paolo Panini


Benedict XIV Lambert ini and Cardinal
Silvio Valenti Gonzaga

Madrid, Prado
63

86

Dimitri Gregoriovich Levitzky


Portrait of Diderot

Geneva,
65

William Hogarth
The Graham Children
London, Tate Gallery

Museum

of Art and History

65

Man

86

Anton Rafael Mengs


The Marquise de Llano
Madrid, San Fernando Academy

Ramsay

Portrait of a

Museum

Antoine Pesne
c.

62

81

Jean-Etienne Liotard
Portrait of the Artist as an

Francesco Guardi
Gala Concert, 1782
Munich, Pinakothek

Allan

Page

Alexander Roslin
The Dauphin, Son of Louis
London, National Gallery

87

XV

66

London, Tate Gallery

Cornells Troost

William Hogarth
Portrait of Viscountess de la Valelte
Geneva, Museum of Art and History

67

Joshua Reynolds
Portrait of Master Hare. 1788
Paris, Louvre

69

Joshua Reynolds, Self-portrait


Lugano, Thysscn Collection

70

Family

Sir

Sir

Joshua Reynolds
Portrait of Louis-Philippe-Joseph

in

an Interior

Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum

91

Jean-Etienne Liotard
Portrait of Madame d'Epinay, c. 1759
Geneva, Museum of Art and History

93

Francisco de Goya
Blind-man 's Buff

94

Madrid, Prado

Sir

Chantilly,

d' Orleans

Conde Museum

Thomas Gainsborough,

70

Perdita

London, Wallace Collection

73

Dictionary

74

d' Alembcrt

Thomas Gainsborough
Portrait of Lt-Col Edmond Nugent
Lugano, Thyssen Collection

George Romney

Paris.

luidy Hamilton as Circe

Aved

London, National Gallery


Sir

Sir

74

Henry Raeburn

John

Paris,

Louvre

Rameau
147

Batoni

Portrait of Joseph Season

Dublin, Irish National

and his Wife

146

Museum

Pompco
75

Thomas Lawrence
Julius Angerstein

Louvre

Portrait of J can- Philippe

Dijon

Lt-Col Bryce McMurdo


London, Tate Gallery

206

Maurice Quentin de La Tour

Museum

148

Jean-Marc Nattier
76

Beaumarchais

149

Page

Page
Bernardo Bellotto (called Canaletto)
Jesus Driving the Moneychangers from the

Pictro Longhi

Temple

Venice, Qucrini Stampalia Gallery

179

Alcssandro Magnasco
Hunter
Florence, Uffizi Gallery

180

Warsaw Museum

Duck Hunters on
150

William Blake

Good and Evil Angels Struggling for Possession


of a Child
London, Tate Galler>'

Luis Melendez
Paris.

152

Carmontelle
Monsieur de Buff on
Chantilly.

Conde Museum

Lagoon

Self-portrait

Frangois Boucher
Portrait of Walteau
Chantilly, Conde Museum

the

153

Rosalba Carriera

Louvre

181

Jean-Marc Nattier
The Duke de Boufflers
Rhcims, Fine Arts Museum

183

Jean-Baptiste Oudry
Heron (study)
Paris,

Louvre

184

Self-portrait

Venice,

Academy

Chardin
Seated Woman Knitting
Paris, Ecole des Beaux-Arts

54

Jean-Baptiste Pater
Woman Bathing (study)
Paris,

156

Charles-Antoine Coypel

Louvre

185

Giovanni Battista Piranesi


Woman and Characters
Paris, School of Fine Arts Library

186

Self-portrait
Paris, National Library

157

Hubert Robert
Festival at the Villa Medici,

Jacques-Louis David

Paris.

Rome

Louvre

190

Head
Paris, Ecole des

Beaux- Arts

Carle Van Loo, Diderot


Langres Museum

59

de La Tour
of Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Engraving
E. Ficquet, after

Portrait

160

191

Thomas Rowlandson
Francois-Hubert Drouais
Little Girl

and her Doll

Grenoble

Museum

Cheyne Walk
London. London

Pressing her

Drawing

Bosom

BesanQon, Fine Arts

Museum

163

Windsor

Castle,

165

192

Portrait

194

of Servandoni

Paris, National Library

Tischbein

Goethe

Museum

Engraving

Duke of Sussex

Royal Gallery

Lille

Portrait of Schiller

Thomas Gainsborough
August-Frederick.

in Italy

Frankfurt. Stadelsches Kunstinstitut

166

Goya, The Drinker


Madrid. Prado

Giambattista Tiepolo
Golgotha (detail)
Vierhouten, Boymans-Van Beuningen

168

Museum

Museum

William Hogarth
The Shrimp Girl
London, National Gallery

Louvre

Nicolas de Largillierc
Beautiful Lady of Strasbourg
Strasbourg Museum of Fine Arts

197

Musical Entertainment
169

Genoa, Private Collection


Carle

197

Van Loo

Nude Study
171

Nicolas Lancret
The Music Lesson
Paris,

195

Gaspare Traversi

Jean-Baptiste Greuze
Man's Head (study)

Leningrad

192

Gabriel-Jacques de Saint-Aubin

Jean-Honore Fragonard

Woman

Museum

161

Algiers, Fine Arts

Museum

198

Elisabeth Vigee-Lebrun

176

Portrait of the Duchess Elisabeth Alexievna


Montpellier Museum

200

Antoine Watteau
Le Donneur de Serenades
177

Chantilly,

Conde Museum

202

207

Eighteenth Century Painting


This sixth volume

in the series

History of Painting was printed

by the Ollkinc Grartchc

Arnoldo Mondadori

The

text

in

was composed

in

Verona.

Times 10-point

type,

and the first and third parts were printed


on machine-coaled paper and the second part
on blue cartridge paper.

The cover and

lay-out of the inside pages

were designed by Jean-Marie Clerc of


Editions Rencontre.

Louis XIV. Th* fenre


painting represented by

Boucher was
the

new

better suited to

of interior

style

which favored
blank ceihngs and left to the
architecture,

decorative painter only


overmantels above doors or
panels.

Germany and

Austria, recovering from the

Thirty Years War and the


Turkish invasion, rebuilt
churches and monasteries,
thus providing a rich field for
Italian fresco painters, while
France built hardly any
churches during the eighteenth
century. The Italians also
led the way in another form
of painting: the meticulous
panoramas of Venice,

Vienna, Dresden, and Warsaw


by the Venetians
Canaletto and Bellotto.

Europe, as
number of
lesser masters were devoted to
Elsewhere

in

in France, a large

naturalism.

The

portrait, in

the hands of such artists as

Hogarth, Reynolds, and


Greuze, became more intimate.

The landscape, especially


in England, became more
directly

concerned with nature.

Genre painting showed


unsophisticated scenes of

everyday

life.

The

richness and variety of


eighteenth-century painting
is beautifully shown here in
photographs, sixty-five of them
in

full

color.

EIGHTEENTH

CENTURY PAINTING

also

includes a special section of

Evidence and Documents in


which writers and artists
such as Diderot, Hogarth,
and Reynolds shed further
light on their own and their
contemporaries' works, a
chronology of important
historical events, a list of

museums showing

the reader

where the principal


paintings of the period are
to be found, a discursive
dictionary of terms, works, and
artists, and a bibliography.

<:i1

V.-ri

Mt
ry

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