Marie Antoinette's

Isabel Bishop (1902–1988), "Scene from Pride and Prejudice: 'The examination of all the letters which Jane had written to her.'" 20th century, Pen and black ink, gray wash, over pencil. The Morgan Library & Museum. Photography by Schecter Lee, 2009.

I visited the Morgan Library & Museum and saw their wonderful exhibition all about Jane Austen! There were censored letters she had written, portraits and drawings, unpublished manuscripts and a peek at how Jane Austen pictured Mrs. Bingley.

When the Louvre sends art work to you, you go visit it!  The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco has just opened their latest exhibition: Royal Treasures from the Louvre: Louis XIV to Marie-Antoinette. 

The newest exhibition featured at the Palace of Versailles will bring over 200 art objects together that trace the inspirations classic antiquity held over Versailles. The exhibition will feature art works that have not been to Versailles since their removal during the time of the Revolution. It will be on view from November 13 2012-March 17 2013.

The latest exhibition at the Grand Palais is called France in Relief, Masterpieces from the collection of relief maps of Louis XIV to Napoleon III. The show features amazing scaled-down maps of some primary European cities made of wood, paper, metal and silk.  In a way, they are like the 18th century version of Google Maps.

On the 27th of January Madame du Barry's chimney piece is going up for auction in New York.  The white marble piece was designed by Claude Nicolas Ledoux and is detailed in gold.  Why is this so exciting? This piece and other 18th century treasures will be on view in New York City this month, but only for a week!

If you can manage to pull yourself away from the European paintings and swing a quick left at the top of the main staircase at the Met you will be met with a punchy blue wall, the opening of the Infinite Jest exhibition. 

William Hogarth. Beer Street, 1751. Etching and engraving. Graphic Arts Collection, Firestone Library.

Now here is an 18th century exhibition at a.....library! (yay love it!)

The exhibition will be on from June 1 through November 11, with eleven works to see, and it is free! Would  love to hear your impressions if you do get to see the works.
Exhibition website 

The Age of Elegance will be on view until August 28, 2011.
 Exhibition catalog.

The Houston Museum of Fine Arts is hosting an exhibition straight from the Louvre titled Antiquity Revived: Neoclassical Art in the Eighteenth Century. The exhibition opened March 20 and is on through May 30, 2011.

Featuring over 150 pieces of art, the show attempts to display the inspiration of the classical world on 18th century artists. The exhibition outlines the historical influences on neoclassic art as well as the imagination and sensibilities (or lack of) of the 18th century artist!

Have you been to Tivoli? What about 18th century Tivloi? (here is your chance!)

A city set on rising ground, a mere thirty miles from Rome; the town was celebrated in the age of Augustus, and promoted by Horace, it was visualized by Turner and Piranesi, described as splendid, rich with vegetation and olive trees.  The gardens and waterfalls inspired Fragonard, and you can see them in the painting above on the left.  It was the home of the Temple of Sibyl and Vestus; the excavation of the site made a famous place for excursions in the 18th century.  It was noted that those who wished to visit the city of Tivoli do so in May or October when the weather was most fair and dry.  All the buzz about the town brought artists there.

The Temple of Sibyl at Tivoli was famous as the oldest in the city, round and flanked by four splendid ionic columns.  By the end of the 18th century the Temple of Sibyl had been converted to a church, and visitors found nothing much on the interior.  Rather the exterior and setting were the main attraction of the site.

The hillside was so high it overlooked the town all the way to the sea, several waterfalls adding movement and a calmness through the area.  In the 18th century Tivoli was a best kept secret- highly appreciated when visited.  With its rich history and ideal surroundings it is no wonder the site became so popular, not only for tourists, but for art as well. 

The exhibition Tivoli: Variations on a Landscape in the 18th Century focuses on just that.  The paintings and drawings collected for the show illustrate how landscape changed over the years 1720-1830.

The exhibition will feature over fifty works created during the 18th century, the artists are varied and some you may know: Boucher, Piranesi, &c. Each artist viewed the same landscape and tried to capture it on canvas or paper.  Each result is different, and as you view the exhibition you can see the changes applied by the artists, the shifts in their views, and you may begin to see what drew them there in the first place!

The exhibition is being held at the Musée Cognacq-Jay, one of my favorite Parisian museums, from 18 November 2010 through 20 February 2011

If you cannot make it there is a catalog with full color illustrations and accompanying information on the show.
Some sites say the catalog is being released this December, but you can grab it now at Amazon.fr or artbooks.com  I will post other places to buy when they appear!  Please let us know if you make it to this show!

Vienna Circa 1780: An Imperial Silver Service Rediscovered is on view now through November 11, 2010.  The exhibition features an amazing dining service on display in the Wrightsman Galleries. Why is this service so wonderful? It was made for the Duke Albert Casimir of Sachsen–Teschen and his wife Marie Christine, Marie Antoinette's older sister! The service was used at their banquets, and you can just imagine the table which it occupied...

The set took roughly four years to make, and was created for the royal couple by the court imperial goldsmith Josef Würth.  Over the years the pieces were split up but in 2002 two wine coolers were discovered in a private collection.  Now the Metropolitan Museum has on display the enormous set of over 300 pieces; wine coolers, plates, candlesticks, cloche &c.  It is well worth a visit.  The set has not been on display since the early twentieth century so do not miss your opportunity!

Würth was very talented, as you can see from this detail of the wine coolers,which serve as a focal point of the set.  The design is neoclassical, the details cast shadows and the metal reflects light.  The effect creates a wide range of contrast, making the scene pop out to the viewer.  You will be pretty amazed at the detail and time that went into creating these pieces.

If you cannot make it to the show before December, you can get a copy of the exhibition catalog here: Vienna Circa 1780: An Imperial Silver Service Rediscovered (Metropolitan Museum of Art).  The catalog and exhibition look at the dining service and others of that time period and consider the broader idea of dining room etiquette and ceremony.

The second half discusses theater, with a focus on the Comédie-Italienne and Comédie-Française.  You will learn about characters such as Pierrot (above) Harlequin and even his fetching female counterpart: Harlequina.  This is well worth the watch whether or not you were able to view the exhibition.

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. The Morgan Library & Museum.

The Morgan Library & Museum is now showing Rococo and Revolution: Eighteenth Century French Drawings, and it is on display until January 3, 2010. This past weekend I had the chance to check out the show featuring works from the Morgan's permanent collection. The artists varied from Watteau, Boucher, Fragonard (tempted yet?) Greuze, Drouais and David.

Jean-Honoré Fragonard (1732–1806), Interior of a Park: The Gardens of Villa d'Este. 18th century, Gouache on vellum. Thaw Collection, The Morgan Library & Museum.

It is downstairs in the Morgan Stanley East Gallery across from their Blake exhibition (also open until January 3). The whole exhibition is in one room set up with display cases down the center, holding plenty of pieces. I was immediately excited to see Fragonard's The Gardens of Villa d'Este and of course the Watteaus!

The fabulous rococo.

The style developed during the reign of Louis XIV and the exhibition covers the end of his reign through that of Louis XVI, until neoclassicism was favored at the wake of the Revolution. The journey from the Sun King to Louis XVI is described through drawing. The show begins with the rich, often irregular compositions of the rococo, made up of intricate and flowing line which forms space and figures. The imagery is very pleasing to the eye, lush landscapes, rolling alleys, private parties and innocent conversations. It is all very attractive.

Jean-Baptiste Oudry (1686-1755), Rendez-vous au carrefour du Puits du Roi, Forêt de Compiègne, or Le Botté du Roi. 18th century, Pen and point of brush and black ink and gray wash, over black chalk, heightened with white, on blue paper faded to light brown. The Morgan Library & Museum.

Pomp and Ceremony

I was caught by a pen and brush drawing by Jean-Baptiste Oudry. The piece is called Meeting at the Carrefour du Puits du Roi, Compiègne forest, or Le Botté du Roi (The Booting of the King). The King in question is Louis XV, and the ceremony (booting of the king) was common. Here we see Louis has stepped down from his coach and is having his boots put on so that he can mount his horse for the hunt. He is attended by his Grand Veneur (Grand Huntsman) on the left and a large party of hunters who watch with apparent delight.

Detail.

The booting of the King was a ceremony and those who had the privilege of chambre entree could attend. Typically le Botté du Roi occurred when the King changed his coat on his way to or from a hunt/walk. If you were of appropriate family/status/background all you had to do was ask the first gentleman of the chambre if you could attend. He could allow up to five suitable persons in, so you would need to get there early!

Versailles

Jacques Rigaud (1681–1754),  Les Dômes. 18th century, Black chalk, pen and gray ink, gray wash. The Morgan Library & Museum.

Les Dômes today. Unknown photographer, c 2009.

Also on display among the drawings is a volume of a series: Recueil choisi des plus belles vues des palais, château, et maisons royales de Paris et des environs by Rigaud. The book contains images of some of the most beautiful sights at Versailles by Rigaud, who was a talent at topographical scenes. The Morgan displays Les Dômes, which was created in preparation for the book. As noted on the website, this image let's us see what is no longer there, the two marble pavilions. And, of course, all the silk.

Charles Joseph Natoire, (1700–1777), The Cascade at the Villa Aldobrandini, Frascati. 1762, Pen and brown and black ink, brown wash, black and red chalk, heightened with white, on light brown paper. The Morgan Library & Museum.

In the mid to later years of the rococo, one artist, Charles Joseph Natoire became director of the French Academy in Rome. Fond of landscapes and the importance of practising them, he encouraged his own students to do the same. The Cascade at the Villa Aldobrandini, Frascati is a beautiful example of a pen and ink landscape, shaded with brown washes. It is absolutely lovely.

Jacques Louis David 1748-1825, Study for Exécution des fils de Brutus. ca. 1785-1786, Pen and black ink with ink wash over black chalk, on laid paper. Thaw Collection, The Morgan Library & Museum.

Revolution

Towards the end of the show, or the other side of the room as I viewed it, were some later works, including Jacques Louis David's Exécution des fils de Brutus. Now neoclassicism is clear, and we have moved a long way from the carefree gardens of Fragonard in style, but also in context.

The drawing shows Brutus at the execution of his own sons. Brutus led a revolt against the last King of Rome and was a leader in creating the republic. His sons plotted to restore the throne, and upon discovery he oversaw their executions. A grave subject yet compelling image. How far we have come indeed.

If you will not be in town before January, you can see selected works from the show (including all of the above images) on the Morgan's website.  The Morgan Library and Museum is on Twitter and updates often with events and fun links:@MorganLibrary (I am @MarieGossip1.) So who is going to the show?