09/10 Academic Decathlon French Revolution Art Selection #18 - Princesse de Broglie

Princesse de Broglie, 1851–1853, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, Oil on canvas; 47 3/4 x 35 3/4 in. (121.3 x 90.8 cm), The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Jean-August-Dominque Ingres is one of my favorite artists! In one of my early drawing classes in college, my professor had us select a work of Ingres' to copy. For some reason I chose one with LOTS of draped fabric, and so I began to imitate his mastery. I was humbled from this exercise but bonded with him in a big way. His approach is so beautiful, flawless and radiant it almost leaves me speechless.

His Neoclassical style comes naturally as he studied under the great Jacques-Louis David, France's premier painter during the Revolutionary period. Raphael became another great influence in his art - Ingres blended the idealism and naturalism of this great Renaissance artist. He explored many themes of history and mythology, but he thought of himself as a history painter. He also painted some of the most important female nudes, some of which are influenced by the exoticism of the Orient that the Romantic artists loved.

Ingres was also an important portrait artist. These are the works that he is most famous for. He was unbelievably prolific! His portraits have dates ranging form 1800 - 1867, the year he died. And though he thought of himself as a history painter, he displayed his portraits alongside his other paintings throughout his career. Remember, the Academy held history painting as the most important subject matter, so it's no wonder he wanted to be known for that genre. He painted many wealthy patrons throughout Europe as well as Napoleon Bonaparte. Before each portrait, he created detailed drawings that included tiny details, though some of his drawings were finished artworks.

This beautiful painting of Princesse de Broglie is stunning. His approach is so detailed and perfect, it is photo-realistic. The Princess was a reserved woman who came from a wealthy Catholic family. She was well educated and wrote a book about Christian virtues that her husband published after her early death at 35. She is shown in this painting in three-quarter length pose. Her gown is made of blue satin with lace trim at the sleeves and neckline. The gold pendant she wears was chosen carefully to communicate her wealth and refinement, but she also wears pearl earrings, a ruby and diamond bracelet and an additional pearl cuff necklace as a bracelet.

She is calm and serene and leans casually against a gold damask armchair in the family's sitting room. The room is kept deliberately simple to allow the focus to be on the Princess. A fan, gloves and shawl are draped across the back of the chair as if she is about to leave for the evening. This portrait was highly lauded and the family quite pleased with the end result. Five years after it was completed, her husband put it behind curtains after her death from tuberculosis. It must have been very sad to curtain this beautiful image, she is so much alive in her portrait.

Self-portrait of Jean-August-Dominique Ingres.

09/10 Academic Decathlon French Revolution Art Selection #17 - Bust of Voltaire

Bust of Voltaire, (1778), Jean-Antoine Houdon, Marble, H. 18 7/8 in. (47.9 cm)

Jean-Antoine Houdon's most famous works are busts of the men and women of the Enlightenment, both in the United States and France. He was highly sought out for commissions of famous men and women. Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson helped him receive a commission for a sculpture of George Washington. He was especially skilled in creating beautiful, realistic sculptures of people because of his high skill in representing the human form. He studied under a surgeon who trained his students by having them study from cadavers - a huge benefit for understanding the human body.

This piece, Bust of Voltaire, was made just before his death in 1778. Voltaire was an important figure during the Enlightenment. Both a philosopher and writer, he produced poetry, plays, novels, essays, books, and pamphlets on a wide variety of topics. He was one of the leading figures in intellectual thought and had a large influence on the American independence movement as well as the French Revolution. Because of his criticism of the French government and of organized religion, he was exiled from Paris and lived abroad for many years. He returned to France about 20 years before his death, and returned to Paris in 1778 to sit for this portrait.

This sculpture is referred to as "tête nue," or bare headed (without wearing a customary wig). His torso is nude, and is lacking the clothing and hairpiece of a contemporary man. Houdon uses great verism (realism) in portraying this man at 83 - his face is wrinkled, his face drawn, his closed taught smile hints at toothless gums and his eyes have a penetrating gaze. There is certainly a reach back to classicism in this sculpture - look at Greek and Roman busts - and has a balance between naturalism and idealism. But he is careful to record the individual characteristics of the man in a way that would represent his spirit beyond his lifetime, goals in keeping with those of the Enlightenment.

09/10 Academic Decathlon French Revolution Art Selection #16 - Self-Portrait with Two Pupils, Mademoiselle Marie Gabrielle Capet (1761–1818)...

Self-Portrait with Two Pupils, Mademoiselle Marie Gabrielle Capet (1761–1818) and Mademoiselle Carreaux de Rosemond (died 1788), 1785, Adélaïde Labille-Guiard, Oil on canvas, 83 x 59 1/2 in. (210.8 x 151.1 cm), The Metropolitan Museum of Art

In the business of art, it is refreshing to find a woman who has made her mark in a male dominated world. Adélaïde Labille-Guiard was able to break into the profession during pre-revolutionary France. Her work focused on portraiture and she was quite successful. Portraiture and still-life painting were deemed appropriate for female artists. Grand history paintings included the male figure and it was culturally unacceptable for women to study the male nude. She married in 1769 but was divorced by 1776 (no doubt also frowned on by society!). Despite these societal obstacles, Labille-Guiard was able to support herself as a teacher and portrait painter.

She set up her studio in the early 1780s and by 1783 had eight female students. She painted members of the aristocracy and the royal court as well as male members of the Royal Academy. She was honored by being admitted to the Royal Academy as a member, but she was not allowed to study or teach at the institution. Just because she was accepted doesn't mean all of the male members were happy about it. She must have had good self-esteem and perseverance, because she was constantly gossiped about and even accused of not painting her work herself!

You can see her self-confidence in this self-portrait; she is in the center of the painting, seated in her studio at work on a large canvas. Her students look on with appreciation and excitement. By dressing in an elaborate and expensive gown, Labille-Guiard represents herself as a painter and a woman of society. Her posture emphasizes her shapely figure and her gown is arranged to be shown at its best advantage. Her studio is also portrayed to be large and luxurious - it is appointed with fine furniture as well as sculptures letting the viewer know that she was financially well off.

We see the back of the canvas, but not what she is painting. Art historians have three ideas about what that painting could be of: (1) it could be the self-portrait that we are looking at, (2) it could be a portrait of one or both of her students, or (3) or there could be another subject outside the scene we see who is having their portrait made. By including other people in her self-portrait, she demonstrates her ability to portray groups of people in one painting. This opened her commissions to patrons who might want to have family groupings immortalized. She was a clever entrepeneur: she used the painting as an advertising tool so the viewer of this painting could imagine themselves as her subject. Her direct gaze at the viewer is enticing and inviting: why not let me paint YOUR portrait!

09/10 Academic Decathlon French Revolution Art Selection #15 - Portrait of a Young Man

Portrait of a Young Man, ca. 1760–65, Pompeo Girolamo Batoni, Oil on canvas, 97 1/8 x 69 1/4 in. (246.7 x 175.9 cm), The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Pompeo Girolamo Batoni was an accomplished artist who painted altarpieces, historical and allegorical paintings and portraits. He painted portraits of many important dignitaries in Europe - patrons from Austrian and Russian courts, royal courts of Europe and portraits of Pope Clement XIII and Pope Pius VI. Since he was located in Rome, it was not unusual for these aristocratic patrons to pop into his studio when they visited Rome. You might say he was a favorite stop on the Grand Tour. He painted portraits of them posed in standing positions, leaning against an antiquity, decked out in their royal finery. His skill is seen in these portraits - even though he painted many, each one was unique.

This young man is not identified, but it is thought that he is French. He is shown in a luxurious space. The objects shown in the painting were deliberately selected to show that the subject was not only educated about the discoveries of the time, but also had the tools in his possession. Books, paper and pens are strewn casually demonstrating this devotion to studies and writing. The people of this time period were enthralled with the work of the Romans. We see guidebooks to Rome in the painting. Rome was an essential stop on the Grand Tour - the city and its history were pivotal to a well-rounded education. Word got around. His reputation became inexorably linked with the Tour, and the wealthy patrons were led to his studio where hundreds of people sat for their portraits and contributed to his illustrious career.

09/10 Academic Decathlon French Revolution Art Selection #14 - Young Jewish Woman of Algeria

Young Jewish Woman of Algeria, Seated, 1846, Théodore Chassériau (French, 1819–1856), Watercolor over graphite, sheet: 11 3/4 x 9 1/8 in. (29.8 x 23.3 cm), The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Théodore Chassériau (called the Unknown Romantic in an exhibit at the Metropolitan) has quite an artistic lineage. He entered the studio of Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres at the age of eleven. (Remember that Ingres was a former student of David and was a classicist) which resulted in Chassériau having a strong classical approach to his work. But that was not the only influence he had - he also was interested in the rich colors and romantic themes of the work of Delacroix. He ended up, like Delacroix, traveling to exotic places like northern Africa and the Middle East.

He died young at the age of 37 after an illness, but he produced a large number of paintings, murals and drawings, many of which were portraits or studies of historical, religious or literary subjects. Before his death, the new movement of Realism was on the rise and his work began to be viewed as establishment. His reputation declined and perhaps this contributed to this nomenclature of "the unknown romanticist".

This work, Young Jewish Woman of Algeria, Seated is a small work of graphite on watercolor paper. There are some notes on the right side of the drawing leading one to think they may have been for a later work. I love this piece. The young woman is looking directly at the viewer, and is in an informal posture. Her face is drawn with more detail than the rest of her body. Her clothing and the environment she is in is handled in a sketchy way. The fact that she is sitting on the floor is unconventional for French thinking - it would have been unseemly for a woman to be sitting on the floor; in French society she would have been sitting on furniture. This scene, which is somewhat voyeuristic, would have been appealing to those interested in romantic subjects. To my eye, it is beautiful and she is lovely. I am enchanted with so much beauty described in so few lines.

09/10 Academic Decathlon French Revolution Art Selection #13 - Royal Tiger

Royal Tiger (Tigre Royal), 1829, Eugène Delacroix, Lithograph, second state of four; image: 12 15/16 x 18 7/16 in. (32.8 x 46.9 cm), The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Eugène Delacroix could be considered the most important of the French Romantic painters. He also was born in a wealthy and educated family. This was an advantage he had throughout his illustrious career. He was trained in the classical tradition by Pierre-Narcisse Guérin who followed in the footsteps of David. Delacroix was more connected to contemporary writers such as the poet Lord Byron. He was attracted to literary subjects and used them as subjects for his paintings. His first work presented at the Salon of 1822 was Dante and Virgil and was inspired by the epic poem The Divine Comedy.

One of my personal favorites of Delacroix is the emotional and dramatic painting, The Death of Sardanapualus, which resides at the Louvre Museum in Paris. The Last king of Nineveh has learned of the fall of his kingdom into enemy hands, and he orders all of his property (including his concubines) be destroyed. He watches with a certain distance, and yet there is a melancholy air to the King. This painting epitomizes the Romantic movement, full of color, richness, passion and the message that man is not in control, not even kings.

Far off exotic places were favorites of the Romanticists, and Delacroix took a trip to North Africa in 1832 which had a tremendous impact on his art. The exotic costumes, people, geography and wild life caught his attention and he produced thousands of oil paintings, pastels, watercolors, lithographs, drawings and sketches.

Royal Tigeris a lithograph. Lithograph comes from the Greek for stone (litho) and mark (graph). The artist draws on a stone with a greasy crayon. When the stone is inked, it bonds to the crayon and is repelled by the damp, clean stone that surround the image. Romanticists liked lithography because it was a direct method of working, drawing directly onto the stone, and allowed a spontaneous working method.

Delacroix was very interested in not only horses, but also lions and tigers. However, this drawing was based on his observations of a dead tiger treated through taxidermy, not a living tiger in the wild. He did, however, attempt to illustrate the tiger as if he was seeing it in its natural habitat. There is no narrative to this scene; you see the tiger in great detail and see the light variations on its coat. Lions and tigers appealed to the romanticists as they were exotic - they were, after all, powerful animals that man had no control over except if hunted. Delacroix was interested in going beyond man's ideas and liked to imagine the world through the eyes of the wild animal believing that it would enable him to have greater understanding of not just the animal's primitive nature, but man's as well.

Self-Portrait, Oil Paint, Eugene Delacroix, 1837, 21.26 inch wide x 25.59 inch high

09/10 Academic Decathlon French Revolution Art Selection #12 - Stormy Coast Scene after a Shipwreck

Stormy Coast Scene after a Shipwreck, Horace Vernet , Oil on canvas, 23 1/4 x 28 3/8 in. (59 x 72 cm), The Metropolitan Museum of Art

This painting is chilling...also painted by Émile-Jean-Horace Vernet, it is a scene of people rescuing victims from a shipwreck that are washed up on the rocky shore. The waves are dominating the image, and the people are tiny in comparison. The Romanticists were enthralled with this idea of the raw power and destruction of nature, and this painting is evident of that interest. A woman is limply being fished out of the sea, either unconscious or dead; the viewer is not sure which it is which adds to the drama. Another man is swimming to shore and grabs at the rocks as he tries to get back on land. If you have ever spent time on a coast and witnessed the power of a storm, you may have a glimpse into this artwork. This vulnerability of man in nature is a common theme in Romantic painting.

The right side of the painting is made up of the rocky shore. I have had my own dramatic event on a rocky shoreline; while snorkeling off the coast of Cozumel, I got caught in a strong surf which pushed and pulled me to and from the rocks (the coast is not a sandy beach, but made of lava rocks as sharp as razor blades). As I was pushed towards the sharp rocks, I tried to grab for them, but then the swell would pull me away back to sea. This happened about 3 or 4 cycles when my husband recognized my precarious situation and called for me to swim back to him, which I did. We both swam back down the shoreline until we found a better place to access a friendlier part of the beach. I will tell you, when I got back on land my legs felt like Jello!! I knew that I had been in a situation that was beyond my swimming skills and without his help I might have had a different outcome. I truly felt as though he had saved my life.

What is interesting about Vernet's painting, is that he shows a tiny slice of the aftermath of the shipwreck. We don't see the ship or any other survivors, so we are left wondering about the rest of the story. What kind of ship was it? Where was it headed? Were there other people on the boat? Are they still drifting about in the sea? When we view art, we may have an obvious connection as my own story above relates. There can be parallels in our lives with the great art we see. By keeping a painting's narrative open and ambigous we are invited to construct our own story or even recall a life event of our own that parallels the picture. I love rocks and though they are beautiful, they can be deadly to our fragile existence. Perhaps you can conjour your own story about this painting; I know I have tasted salt water and felt fear in a vulnerable moment at sea, and it is a feeling and moment I will never forget.

09/10 Academic Decathlon French Revolution Art Selection #11 - The Start of the Race of the Riderless Horses

The Start of the Race of the Riderless Horses, 1820, Horace Vernet, Oil on canvas, 18 1/8 x 21 1/4 in. (46 x 54 cm), The Metropolitan Museum of Art

I just love this painting! It is full of drama and excitement (elements of Romanticism) - the horses are portrayed with power and glory. The artist, Horace Vernet, grew up in an aristocratic French family, the son of another famous painter, Carle Vernet. His career was jump started as a result of his heritage and financial means, and he sprang onto the art scene exhibiting his first artwork at the Salon when he was 23. From the beginning of his career he was known for his paintings of horses, images of soldiers and large scale battle scenes, which were widely popular. He was skilled at capturing battles as a journalist would, including details that might be left out by other artists. He was a very successful artist whose patrons included the kings and emperors of France as well as wealthy members of the upper-middle class.

This scene, the race of the riderless horses, was an event that took place in Rome alongside the annual Carnival celebration in Rome. Much like the running of the bulls in Paloma, Spain, the festival and the race attracted tourists from all over Europe. Barberi horses, a breed of small, fast horses from the coast of northern Africa, were the horses who ran the race. They would race over a mile without jockeys, spurred on by irritating bits of metal attached to their bodies as well as the setting off of firecrackers and loud, boisterous crowds. And, like the running of the bulls, once the horses let loose, people on the streets could be crushed by the raw power of the horses, so many spectators watched from the safety of balconies above the street level.

Vernet is showing the moment before the race has begun, when the grooms are trying to control the huge animals which are decorated with ribbons for identification purposes. The drama of being in such close quarters with such powerful animals is displayed in the center - a black horse has fallen on a groom and there is terror in his face as he realizes he could be trampled to death in a moment. Another groom, muscles rippling with effort, is trying to contain the wild beast. There is yet another groom in the background adding his strength to control the situation. We see spectators in the balconies that are hung with red drapery for the celebration. Some are not even interested in the scene below, but are looking off to some other happening in the distance.

The Romanticists loved to focus on the power and uncontrollable aspect of nature and the interest in horses was a favorite subject in their paintings. This particular scene was especially exciting: it showed a time when the power and fury of these magnificent beasts was set free and could also be seen as a symbol of freeing human spirits from the bondage of modern civilization.

Self-Portrait, Emile Jean Horace Vernet, 1835, Oil on canvas, 47 × 39 cm (18.50 × 15.35 in)

09/10 Academic Decathlon French Revolution Art Selection #10 - Evening: Landscape with an Aqueduct

Evening: Landscape with an Aqueduct, 1818, Théodore Gericault, Oil on canvas, 98 1/2 x 86 1/2 in. (250.2 x 219.7 cm), The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Géricault is considered to be one of the most important painters in the movement of Romanticism. He studied under Carle Vernet, but broke away from formal study, copying Renaissance and Baroque painters. He was an independent artist interested in exploring is own artistic vision. He worked across many genres and was not only a painter but a talented printmaker. He painted scenes of contemporary events as well as portraits, horses, genre scenes and landscapes. He died young, at age 32, after sustaining an injury and disease that rapidly shortened his life. One of his landmark paintings is the Raft of the Medusa.

Evening: Landscape with an Aqueduct is one of his largest paintings. The scene is romantic, with its dramatically lit sky and grand view of river and the countryside. The Roman aqueduct is the focal point in the center of the composition - the sky is a dramatic backdrop highlighting this antiquity with its rounded arches. There are bathers in the foreground, but there seems to be no narrative that they are involved in save washing the dust off from their day. This painting seems to be nothing more than a glorious landscape, perhaps paying homage to the Roman aqueduct which could allude to the passage of time.

Check out the essay found on the Met's website about Romanticism.

Self portrait, 27 x 37 cm (10,6 x 14,5 inches), Oil on canvas

09/10 Academic Decathlon French Revolution Art Selection #8 - The Triumph of Aemilius Paulus

The Triumph of Aemilius Paulus, 1789, Carle Vernet (Antoine Charles Horace) (French, 1758–1836), Oil on canvas, 51 1/8 x 172 1/2 in. (129.9 x 438.2 cm), The Metropolitan Museum of Art

This panoramic painting by Carle Vernet is a monumental history painting over 14' wide. The size alone would have gotten a lot of attention from the Salon, but he also displays a confident technical ability. He painting this piece as the Revolution was garnering strength and hoped that it would gain him full membership in the Academy.

The subject comes again from Roman history as described by the Roman historian Livy. The composition shows a throng of people witnessing the triumphant arrival of Amelius Paulus in Rome. Paulus, seated on the right side in a golden chariot, the men and women lauding him upon his return to Rome. The light is dramatically focused on Aemilius Paulus with the background full of examples of classical architecture. Because there are many monuments in this painting, the work is reminiscent of the vedute that people loved buying during their Grand Tour.

09/10 Academic Decathlon French Revolution Art Selection #9 - Minerva Protecting the Young King of Rome

Minerva Protecting the Young King of Rome, 1811
Joseph-Antoine Romagnési, Plaster, painted to resemble yellowish stone; green marbleized wood (frame only)
45 1/2 x 29 in. (115.6 x 73.7 cm), The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Ah, Roman mythology! The Neoclassical artists loved nothing more than to revisit these stories and see how well they could create the ideal aesthetic. In this relief sculpture, Minerva, the Roman Goddess of war and wisdom, is sheltering the child of Napoleon who he named as his heir and the King of Rome. Her pose is a classical stance from Greek and Roman sculpture, the contrapposto pose. The boy has his arm draped around a she-wolf which reminds the viewer about the legend of Romulus & Remus, the two brothers who were the founders of Rome, suckled and raised by a protective she-wolf.

This sculpture was created commemorating the birth of François-Chrles-Joseph, known as Napoleon II. Finally Napoleon had an heir to his empire. This piece is highly propagandistic - Napoleon wanted to have art and symbols tying his son to the glory of Rome and the empire that leaders continued to try to emulate.

Not a lot is known about Ramagnéi's early career. He became a professional artist after the Revolution. The sculpture, though created in plaster, was painted to look like the more lasting material stone. Marble was more costly, so it also made it look more expensive and precious. It was common for sculptors of this time to complete their designs in plaster and then take it to a professional stone carver to complete it in stone. This work was never realized in marble.

09/10 Academic Decathlon French Revolution Art Selection #7 - The Death of Socrates

The Death of Socrates, Jacques-Louis David, 1787, Oil on canvas, 51 x 77 1/4 in. (129.5 x 196.2 cm), The Metropolitan Museum of Art

David is one of my personal favorite artists! His work is so powerful, so spare, so beautiful! He was privy to a superior education and the style of his training contributed to his rise as one of the great history painters. One of his early teachers was François Boucher, and though he was anxious to win the Academy's greatest honor, the Prix de Rome, it was not a fait accompli for him; his first submission was not accepted. Though he did not receive the Prix de Rome when he first attempted it, he had other commissions and prizes during his years as a student. He finally got to study at the French Academy in Rome and that is where he really connected with the classical influence that would inform his own work. As the AcDec guide states: "David became one of the most influential and successful artists of the 1780s, and some of his most important works were completed in the years leading up to the Revolution." He became very active in the politics surrounding the Revolution. "David also played a prominent role in the development of propaganda for the new Republic, staging funerals for martyrs of the Revolution, designing festivals for new secular heroes, and helping to construct a new body of symbolic imagery for the new political regime."

Because of his political bent and his artistic genius, Napolean commissioned him to create portraits of him as a statesman and as a powerful military leader. This is one of my favorite paintings of Napoleon:

Napoleon Crossing the Alps (also known as Napoleon at the Saint-Bernard Pass or Bonaparte Crossing the Alps) is the title given to the five versions of an oil on canvas equestrian portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte painted by the French artist Jacques-Louis David between 1801 and 1805. Initially commissioned by the Spanish Ambassador to France, the composition shows a strongly idealized view of the real crossing that Napoleon and his army made across the Alps in 1800.

This piece of David, The Death of Socrates, was a painting he did during the early years of his career. The scene is powerful and emotional, Socrates has been accused by his society of corrupting the youth and has been sentenced to death. He chooses to be in control of his fate by drinking hemlock, a poison that kills someone slowly. He is in a prison cell - there are shackles and chains on the floor adding to the drama of the situation. Socrates is depicted as a trim, muscular and youthful man even though he is also shown as being advanced in age. His devotees are surrounding him as he points to the heavens and assures them that his soul will remain immortal. His other hand reaches out to the poison in a distracted kind of way. He is calm and assured, though his disciples are emotional and beginning to grieve his imminent death.

Back to my comment about David's spare paintings - his neoclassical scenes have an emphasis on the drama of the human predicament rather than a busy background. He uses light to increase the dramatic tension and focus the attention on the central figures. This stark, stage-like setting is very different from the frivolous, soft paintings of Rococo. Line is emphasized over color which was thought to be associated with intellectual thought rather than the emotional and sensual flavor of Rococo. This subject of classical history was meant to appeal to educated, literary people who were interested in the expanded thinking of the Enlightenment.

Self-portrait, Jacques-Louis David, 1794, Oil on canvas, 31.69 x 25.24 inches / 80.5 x 64.1 cm, Musée du Louvre, Paris, France

09/10 Academic Decathlon French Revolution Art Selection #6 - Modern Rome

Modern Rome, 1757, Giovanni Paolo Panini, Oil on canvas, 67 3/4 x 91 3/4 in. (172.1 x 233 cm), The Metropolitan Museum of Art

We move away from the frivolity of the Rococo movement into an artistic return to the classical ideal. The classic aesthetic that the Greeks and Romans created continue to inspire artists through the ages. Neoclassical art can vary widely, but it looks back to classical art in one way or another. One reason for the rise of interest in classicism was the unearthing of the ruins in Pompeii and Herculaneum near Naples, Italy. These discoveries excited the people in the 18th century - they could see how people worked and lived ages before them.

The Grand Tour became a standard part of the education of privileged young men. Italy was at the heart of the Grand Tour - travelers would visit the important cities and sites studying, sketching and collecting artwork as a memento of their trip. Artists catered to this enthusiastic audience for all things classical. Panini was one of the great masters of vedute, or "view paintings" which were popular with the visitors to Italy on the Grand Tour.

This work by Panini, Modern Rome shows a very large gallery with paintings hung floor to ceiling; each painting is of a monument or building of "modern Rome" depicted from the eras of the Renaissance and Baroque. Gentlemen are portrayed in the gallery looking at the paintings. Panini even put in a self-portrait - he's dressed in gray, seated in an armchair and looking out of the painting. The paintings showcase the works of art and architecture a travelers would see on his Grand Tour.

Portrait of Giovanni Paolo Panini, 1705, Oil on canvas, 29.92 inches wide 37.99 inches high

09/10 Academic Decathlon French Revolution Art Selection #5 - Shepherd's Idyll

Shepherd's Idyll, François Boucher, 1768, Oil on canvas, 94 1/2 x 93 1/2 in. (240 x 237.5 cm), The Metropolitan Museum of Art

François Boucher's artwork is indicative of the mature phase of the Rococo movement and is sometimes thought of as "high rococo." He was born into a working class family, but he gained entrance into the Royal Academy and then had the opportunity to study at the French Academy in Rome. He eventually was categorized as a history painter within the Royal Academy, the highest level you could achieve. Perhaps his biggest claim to fame was being a favorite painter for Madame de Pompadour. He even used her likeness in some of the goddesses in mythological scenes he created.

He was particularly fond of a subcategory of history painting called "gallant mythologies" - scenes that depicted the loves of the gods of antiquity. He drew heavily from Watteau's idea of fête galante, but Boucher's style was full of fantasy. He composed his paintings with a theatrical bent.

Let's look at Shepherd's Idyll. This painting was made two years before his death, so it is part of his mature work. It is very large - on the scale of a history painting. But this is not a scene of action and drama, but a bucolic scene depicting a moment of leisure in the life of this shepherd. The people in the painting are all dressed simply, but they are not dressed in work clothes. The 3 women and the children form an adoring circle around the relaxed figure of the shepherd.

This painting is known as an idyll, which means a charming, bucolic scene of rural life. The people are idealized, young, beautiful, living together in harmony. Though the shepherd is a working class man, it appears his life is carefree and not so involved with working! The wealthy class wanted to fantasize that the working class did not suffer excess toil, so had them portrayed as their own lives were - free of worry and hard work.

Boucher's palette was comprised of pastel tones and bright whites. He had a very painterly style - loose and free. He painted to satisfy the tastes of his clientele. He catered to the decorative style that the aristocracy craved. The salons of Paris were held by aristocratic women. They were sophisticated and loved a beautiful environment. This image closes out the Rococo period and is the epitome of the style - luxury, frivolity, soft colors, relaxation AND........love!

09/10 Academic Decathlon French Revolution Art Selection #4 - Broken Eggs

Broken Eggs, 1756, Jean-Baptiste Greuze (French, 1725–1805), Oil on canvas, 28 3/4 x 37 in. (73 x 94 cm), The Metropolitan Museum of Art

I love Greuze! What a genre painter he was! His paintings were didactic and moralizing - with plenty of drama. Greuze was accepted into the Academy and painted this piece, Broken Eggs, while studying in the French Royal Academy in Rome. He wanted to achieve the status of history painter, but it was not to be - during his career he never broke free of genre painter. This really upset him! Because he could not achieve the higher level with the Academy, he refused to exhibit his work at the Salons for over thirty years! Take that!

Let's get to the drama.....the scene is set inside a lower class home, there is little furniture and the walls and floor are unpainted and cracked. A young girl is in the foreground, and she looks forlorn. The basket next to her is filled with eggs, but a few have spilled out of the basket and one is broken on the floor. She has just returned from trying to sell her eggs. The young man behind her also appears to have just entered the house from the street and he is removing his hat.

The old woman is not happy. She is grasping the young man's hand and pointing to the broken egg as though he is to blame, but he has a bewildered look on his face. The young boy tries to reassemble the egg in a fruitless gesture. The scene is about much more than the actual broken egg - the broken egg was also symbolic for a young girl's lost virtue. The older woman demands that the young man be accountable, but it's unclear how the scene will resolve itself. Greuze has captured a moment of drama and the viewer is given the opportunity to be the judge of the situation (and perhaps use the scene as a moralizing tale for young people in their own households!).


Self-Portrait, Jean-Baptiste Greuze, 1780s, Oil on canvas, 56 x 46 cm, The Hermitage, St. Petersburg

09/10 Academic Decathlon French Revolution Art Selection #3 - Wine Cooler

Wine cooler, 1753, French; Vincennes, Soft-paste porcelain, H. 7 3/4 in. (19.7 cm), W. 10 1/4 in. (26 cm), Diam. 8 in. (20.3 cm), The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Vicennes porcelain factory started in 1740 in the town of Vincennes just east of Paris. Louis XV was a major shareholder in the operation initially but acquired full ownership in 1759 and it became a national factory at that time. Before the factory in France, porcelain was imported from China.

Porcelain is a beautiful white ceramic material that when fired has a glassy surface. There are two types of porcelain made from a white clay called kaolin - hard-paste and soft-paste. Soft-paste porcelain is more challenging to produce because it has a lower clay content and is more difficult to shape. The Vincennes Manufactory produced high quality products. They enjoyed royal patronage and had superior skill working with the more challenging material.

The function of the wine cooler was to keep a bottle chilled. There is a central decorative panel with gold accents on the handles and panel. The background color, a beautiful turquoise called blue céleste, was first developed the year this was made and was a color unique to the factory. The naturalistic design is typical of Rococo - flora and foliage painted in a soft pastel palette of pinks, blues and greens. The manufacturers of fine ceramics are identified by a mark (or logo) on the bottom of the piece. The wine cooler has a "double-Louis" mark that has two intertwined letter "L's" with a letter "A" and a dot at the top and bottom. These marks changed from time to time which helps historians date works to the time frame they would have been manufactured in.

Needless to say, these items were enjoyed by the aristocracy. A table service could have as many as five hundred pieces: plates, platters, serving dishes and coolers for bottles and glasses! French porcelain of the 18th century was elegant, elaborate, glitzy and highly decorative. Imagine sitting down for dinner and being surrounded by so many beautiful pieces - ooh la la!

Portrait of Louis XV of France

09/10 Academic Decathlon French Revolution Art Selection #2 - Soap Bubbles

Soap Bubbles, ca. 1734, Jean Siméon Chardin (French, 1699–1779), Oil on canvas, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin was not born into a monied, aristocratic family and did not have access to a formal education in art. He was largely self-taught and considered himself a successful still life and genre painter. He did exhibit his work regularly at the Salons and had a supportive group of patrons. Because he painted simple scenes of typical households, people and animals, his work was embraced by people from different social strata. He sold print reproductions of his paintings which also allowed people of different socio-economic levels to have access to his art.

Soap Bubbles is a simple genre scene that is simple in its composition and color palette. You can see the influence he had from the Dutch Baroque painters. There is something voyeuristic about this painting - a young man is absorbed in the bubble that he is blowing. As it grows bigger and bigger, a small boy peeps over the windowsill, watching with excitement and wonder the act of bubble blowing. When was the last time YOU blew a bubble? Remember the opalescent colors that swirl on the surface? Isn't it interesting (and comforting!) that centuries later, we still find this activity fun and entertaining? Blowing a REAL bubble is not something your iPhone can do! Virtual bubbles are just not the same!

What may not be so obvious on the surface of this painting is the direct portrayal of social class. It was the wealthier patron that could afford to purchase an original oil painting. The elite patron had an interest in having a simple life scene which showed a moment that any social class would have enjoyed displayed in their home. But this young man is not from an affluent class. Though he is groomed and clean, his clothes do not fit him and show signs of wear. His jacket sleeves are too short and it is torn at one shoulder. This image illustrated a moment in the lives of those beneath them in class and rank, and it was something they enjoyed viewing. Interesting - so much in common (the joys of blowing bubbles) and yet also worlds apart (money and privilege).

Soap bubbles are so fragile, we know how delicate and fleeting they are! This image can represent the fleeting nature of life, so the viewer could consider the image on more than one level. Michael Levey has written about Chardin's genre paintings from his book Rococo to Revolution: Major Trends in Eighteenth-Century Painting, "Chardin refers us back to ordinary experience, concentrating it with almost microscopic intensity, tingeing it with the hint of the moral and educative, yet still not telling any specific story."

Self Portrait, Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin, 1771, Pastel on paper, 46 x 37.5 cm, Musée du Louvre, Paris, France

09/10 Academic Decathlon French Revolution Art Selection #1 - Mezzetin

Mezzetin, probably 1718–20 Jean Antoine Watteau (French, 1684–1721), Oil on canvas, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

In an art history class a few years ago, the professor had a free response question on an exam: "Choose your favorite art movement and tell me why you chose it." I surprised myself when I chose Rococo and proceeded to list the things that made my heart sing: pure entertainment, lots of pink putti, FABULOUS clothing, lovely soft colors oozing on the canvas, lots of outdoors romping, parties and last but not least, Love. Who would have thunk it!

The images this year begin with this lovely movement, Rococo. It's birth was in France, and Jean Antoine Watteau is credited for being at the forefront of the movement. An innovative artist, he painted in a looser, more painterly style than his contemporaries. His most notable contribution to art is the creation of a new genre the Académie des Beaux-Arts called the "fête galante" or gallant party. These paintings showed groups of elegantly dressed aristocrats enjoying outdoor gatherings. His submission to the Académie did not fit into their accepted genres. The hierarchy of the genres ranked the works according to their subjects: #1 history paintings, #2 portraits, #3 genre scenes and #4 still life and landscapes. The fête galante genre loosened up this rigid hierarchy and the Académie, which was historically very conservative, began to open up to new subjects and styles. It was important to individual artists to be accepted by the Académie for a successful livelihood as a professional artist.

Mezzetin shows us Watteau's interest in the theater as subject matter for his paintings. In this painting, Mezzetin (which means "half-measure") is one of the stock character actors in an Italian commedia dell'arte. There are a couple of not so subtle messages in this composition. The female figure in the background (a statue painted in the grisaillle technique) has her back turned to the wistful troubadour. He appears to be singing a love song, perhaps about unrequited love; he is fully engaged, lost in his own world.

The Louvre has a marvelous collection of Rococo art, both decorative arts and paintings. Can't get to Paris to see the Louvre's Rococo collection? Check out the virtual tour of the Watteau Room in the Louvre!

Portrait of Jean-Antoine Watteau by Rosalba Carriera.