Plan your visit. 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street, New York, NY 10016.

Plan your visit. 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street, New York, NY 10016.

Rococo and Revolution: Eighteenth-Century French Drawings

October 2, 2009, through January 10, 2010

Rococo and Revolution: Eighteenth-Century French Drawings features more than eighty exceptional drawings almost exclusively from the Morgan's renowned holdings. The efflorescence of the ancien régime and its eventual downfall provide the backdrop to a century of remarkable artistic vitality and variety that subtly chronicles the many changes taking place in eighteenth-century France. Artists represented in the exhibition include among others Antoine Watteau, Jacques-Louis David, François Boucher, Jean-Honoré Fragonard, Claude Gillot, Nicolas Lancret, Hubert Robert, Pierre-Paul Prud'hon, Anne-Louis Girodet, and Pierre-Narcisse Guérin.

The royal court and wealthy Parisian merchants defined the artistic sensibility of the early decades of the century. This exuberant style, called rococo, eventually assimilated the burgeoning classicism of the Enlightenment. Later, a more formally austere Neoclassicism developed with the triumph of "reason" and the stirrings of the Revolution.

The Rococo initially flourished during the waning years of Louis XIV's reign (r. 1661–1715) and serves as a starting point for the exhibition. Works by artists active at the French Academy in Rome during its greatest years, coinciding with the rule of Louis XV (r. 1715–1774), document the robust role of drawing in artistic practice during mid-century. The exhibition concludes with works executed during the last decades of the ancien régime, under Louis XVI (r. 1774–1792), and the onset of the Revolution, as artists embraced the rigorous Neoclassical style. Contextually, the exhibition also touches on developments and changes in patronage, fashion, theater, and literature in Paris at this time.

This exhibition is made possible by a generous gift from an anonymous donor. Additional support is provided by Nancy Schwartz, Mr. and Mrs. James M. Vaughn, Jr., and Stephen A. Geiger.

Antoine Watteau (1684–1721)
Seated Young Woman, ca. 1716
Black, red, and white chalk
Purchased by Pierpont Morgan, 1911; I, 278a

Selected Images

Pierre-Paul Prud'hon (1758-1823), Study for a Portrait of Empress Joséphine, 1805 , Black chalk, stumped in some areas, heightened with white, on blue paper; ruled in pen and black ink, Bequest of Therese Kuhn Straus in memory of her husband, Herbert N. Straus , 1977.58
Antoine Watteau (1684–1721), Temple of Diana , Red chalk on paper, The Pierpont Morgan Library, New York , 1980.9
Antoine Watteau (1684–1721), Seated Young Woman , Black, red, and white chalk on oatmeal-colored paper, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Eugene V. Thaw , 2000.53
Etienne Louis Boullée (1728–1799), Interior of a Library , Pen and black and some brown ink, gray wash, over faint traces of black chalk; compass point at center; ruled borders in pen and black ink at outer margin and framing design area, Thaw Collection ,
Anne-Louis Girodet-Trioson (1767–1824), Phaedra Confesses Her Love for Hippolytus to Oenone , Pen and brown ink, brown wash, heightened with white, over graphite, Purchased on the Edwin H. Herzog Fund, the Gordon Ray Fund, and as the gift of Mrs. John Hay Whitney , 1997.3
Gabriel Jacques de Saint-Aubin (1724–1780), The Lesson of the Chemist Sage at the Hôtel des Monnaies, 1779 , Black chalk with some stumping and graphite, point of brush and brown ink, gray wash, some bodycolor, Purchased on the Sunny Crawford von Bülow Fund 1978 , 1991.4
Jean-Baptiste Oudry (1686–1755), Meeting at the Carrefour du Puits du Roi, Compiègne forest, or Le Botté du Roi (The Booting of the King), ca. 1733 , Pen and point of brush and black ink and gray wash, over black chalk, heightened with white, on blue paper faded to light brown, Purchased on the Edwin H. Herzog Fund with the special assistance of the International Music and Art Foundation , 1995.1
Hubert Robert (1733–1808), Draftsman in an Italian Church , Red chalk, Thaw Collection , 1981.74
Jean-Baptiste Greuze (1725–1805), Anacreon in His Old Age Crowned by Love, before 1762 , Pen and black ink, touches of brown ink, black wash, heightened with white tempera, over graphite, on brown paper, Bequest of Therese Kuhn Straus in memory of her husband, Herbert N. Straus , 1977.57
Charles Joseph Natoire (1700–1777), A View of the Top of the Cascade at the Villa Aldobrandini, Frascati , Pen and brown ink, brown wash, black and red chalk, heightened with white, on blue paper; partial ruled border in black chalk, Bequest of Miss Alice Tully , 1996.64
Louis Nicolas de Lespinasse (1734–1808), View of Two Banks of the Seine, Paris , Pen and brown ink and watercolor, heightened with white, over preliminary drawing in graphite; fine ruled border in pen and black ink, Purchased on the Lois and Walter C. Baker Fund , 1994.17
Jacques Rigaud (1681–1754), Les Dômes , Black chalk, pen and gray ink, gray wash, Purchased on the Lois and Walter C. Baker Fund , 2007.89
Louis-Léopold Boilly (1761–1845), Portraits of the Artist's Family and Servants , Black and white chalk, on light brown wove paper, Thaw Collection
Carmontelle (Louis Carrogis 1717–1806), Portrait of a Lady Seated by a Fire , Black, red, and white chalk, watercolor, with a touch of pen and black ink to accent the sitter's eye, Purchased on the Walter C. Baker Fund , 1981.51
François-Hubert Drouais (1727–1775), Boy with a Sketchbook , Black, white, and red chalk, Purchased on the Sunny Crawford von Bülow Fund 1978 , 1992.35
Louis-Roland Trinquesse (ca. 1745–ca. 1800), Study of a Lady of Fashion , Red chalk, Purchased on the Sunny Crawford von Bülow Fund 1978 , 1990.16
Gabriel Jacques de Saint-Aubin (1724–1780), Momus, 1752 , Red and black chalk, with touches of white chalk, Purchased as the gift of the Fellows , 1954.9
Jean-Honoré Fragonard (1732–1806), Interior of a Park: The Gardens of Villa d'Este , Gouache on vellum, Thaw Collection , 1997.85
Jean-Baptiste-Marie Pierre (1714–1789), Le Misanthrope, Act II, scene IV, ca. 1750–55 , Pen and black ink, brush and gray wash, over black chalk, heightened with white gouache, on blue paperPurchased as the gift of Joan Taub Ades and on the Lois and Walter C. Baker Fund , 2006.5
Antoine Watteau (1684–1721), Seated Young Woman , ca. 1716, Black, red, and white chalk on buff paper, Purchased by Pierpont Morgan, 1911 , I, 278a
François Boucher (1703–1770), Adoration of the Shepherds, ca. 1761–62 , Pen and brown ink, brown and red wash, brown and black chalk, heightened with white chalk, worked wet, over traces of black chalk, on pink-prepared paper, Thaw Collection