Existing comment:
Eighteenth-Century France:
The Walters has one of the finest collections of French 18th-century art in the United States, including representative examples by many of the major painters and sculptors of the period. During the 18th century, French citizens witnessed both the heights of monarchical pomp and splendor and the upheaval of revolution. The glory of the Sun King, Louis XIV (1643-1714), was reflected in the glittering luxury of the Chateau of Versailles. This opulence would eventually give way to a less ornate style, appropriate to the needs and tastes of a diverse landed gentry. The fantastical decoration of the rococo, in which every surface within a room had intertwining colors and patterns, would be replaced by a more severe style inspired by the classical worlds of ancient Greece and Rome. With the overthrow of the monarchy, themes drawn from antiquity would predominate as fitting allegories for the ideals of civic virtue promoted by the new Republic.
The craftsmanship of French 18th-century artisans in unrivalled. The royal manufactories at Gobelins, Beauvais, and Sevres produced a wide angle of tapestries and porcelains based on the designs of the foremost painters and sculptors of the day, including Francois Boucher and Etienne-Maurice Falconet, both of whom are represented in this gallery. |