Diploma Lecture Series 2012

Absolutism to enlightenment: European art and culture 1665-1765

History painting from Le Brun to rococo

Mark Ledbury

4 / 5 April 2012

Lecture summary:

History Painting might be broadly defined as the painting of multi-figure narrative scenes from
myth, history, biblical narrative or fable: Its theoretical history in modern times goes back to Leon
Battista Alberti, and previous lectures in this series have discussed how, through the example of
Poussin, it was codified and championed in the French Academy of Painting and Sculpture,
particularly through discussions and debates known as Conférences and through the work of the
early Academy’s most powerful director and champion, the Painter Charles Le Brun.
This lecture will take as its subject the less well-charted history of history painting as both
theoretical entity and actual painterly genre from the death of Charles Le Brun to the ascension of
Francois Boucher in the mid 1740s. The lecture will take a fresh look at a generation of painters
who may not be familiar, such as Jean Jouvenet, François Lemoyne, Jean François de Troy and
the Coypel dynasty, and will look at key moments in the history of history painting, including the
competitions organized by the Duc D’Antin in 1727 and by Lenormant de Tournehem twenty years
later. The lecture will propose an alternative to the usual tale of decline from the philosophical
glories of Poussin and the manly magnificence of Le Brun to the insipid pastel pastorals of
Francois Boucher. Instead, I will propose in this lecture that we focus on History painting as a
centre of experiment, innovation and variety in the period.

Slide List

1. Nicolas Poussin, Self-Portrait, Oil on Canvas, 1650, Paris: Louvre

2. Nicolas de Largillière, Portrait of Charles Le Brun, (Oil on Canvas, 1683-6, Paris: Louvre)
3. Nicolas Poussin, The Isrealites Gathering Manna in the Desert (Oil on Canvas, 1637-9,
Paris, Louvre)
4. Charles Le Brun, The Death of Meleager (1658-60, Paris: Louvre)
5. Jean Jouvenet, The Miraculous Draft of Fishes, Oil on Canvas, 1706, Paris: Louvre
6. Jean Jouvenet, The Descent from the Cross, Oil on Canvas,1697, Paris: Louvre
* 7. Jean Jouvenet, The Raising of Lazarus 1706, Oil on Canvas, Paris: Louvre
* 8. Charles de la Fosse, The Adoration of the Magi, (Oil on Canvas, 1715, Paris: Louvre)
9. Antoine COYPEL, Eliezer and Rebecca, Oil on Canvas, 1701, Paris: Louvre
10. Jean Restout, Pentecost, Oil on Canvas, 1732, Paris: Louvre
11. François Lemoyne [or Lemoine], Hercules and Omphale, 1724, Paris: Louvre
12. François Lemoyne, Narcissus at the Pool.
13. Jean François de Troy, Diana at Rest, Oil on Canvas, 1726, Nancy, MBA
14. François Lemoyne, The Countenance of Scipio 1727, Oil on Canvas, Nancy, MBA
15. François Lemoyne, Louis XV giving Peace to Europe (Oil on Canvas, 1727, Versailles
* 16. Francois Lemoyne, The Apotheosis of Hercules (Oil on Canvas, 1733-6, Versailles)
17. Hercules Salon with Lemoyne, Apotheosis of Hercules in situ, Versailles

Proudly sponsored by
 18. Paul Veronese, Rebecca and Eliezer, Oil on Canvas, c1550-80, Versailles
19. Paul Veronese, The Meal with Simon the Pharisee, 1756, Oil on Canvas, Versailles.
20. Details of François Lemoyne, The Apotheosis of Hercules
21. François Lemoyne, Head of Hebe, study for the 'Apotheosis of Hercules`, Pastel over red,
black and white chalk on blue paper 1733, London, British Museum.
22. Gustav Lundberg, Portrait of François Boucher, 1741 (Pastel on Blue Paper, Paris: Louvre)
* 23. François Boucher, Aurora and Cephalus (Oil on Canvas, 1733, Nancy, MBA)
* 24. Francois Boucher, Venus Requesting Arms from Vulcan for Aeneas (Oil on Canvas, 1732:
Paris, Louvre)
25. François Boucher, Thr Rape of Europa (Oil on Canvas, 1734, London: Wallace Collection)
26. Francois Boucher, Diana at her Bath (Oil on Canvas, 1742, Paris: Louvre)
27. François Boucher, Leda and the Swan (Oil on Canvas, 1742, Stockholm, Nationalmuseum
* 28. Francois Boucher, The Rape of Europa (Oil on Canvas, 1747, Paris:Louvre)
29. Charles-Joseph Natoire, The triumph of Bacchus (Oil on Canvas, 1746-7, Paris: Louvre)
30. Etienne Jeaurat, Diogenes Breaking his Barrel (Oil on Canvas, 1747, Versailles)
31. Jean-Baptiste Pierre, Aurora and Tithon, (Oil on Canvas, 1747, Poitiers, Museé)
32. François Boucher, The Mysterious Basket (Oil on Canvas, 1748, Melbourne, NGV)
* 33. François Boucher, The Agreeable Lesson (Oil on Canvas, 1748, Melbourne, NGV)
34. Details of nos 32 and 33
* 35. François Boucher, The Rising of the Sun (Oil on Canvas, 1751, London: Wallace
Collection)
* 36. François Boucher, The Setting of the Sun (Oil on Canvas, 1751, London: Wallace
Collection)
37. François Boucher, Venus at Vulcan’s Forge (Oil on Canvas, 1769, Fort Worth, Kimbell Art
Museum)
38. Jean-Honoré Fragonard, Coresus and Callirhoe (Oil on Canvas, 1765, Paris: Louvre)
39. Jacques-Louis David, The Oath of the Horatii (Oil on Canvas, 1785, Paris, Louvre)

References:

Bailey, Colin B, Carrie A Hamilton, Kimbell Art Museum., Galeries nationales du Grand Palais (France),
and Philadelphia Museum of Art. The Loves of the Gods: Mythological Painting from Watteau to

David. New York; Fort Worth: Rizzoli; Kimbell Art Museum, 1992.

Bordeaux, Jean-Luc. François LeMoyne and His Generation: 1688 - 1737. Neuilly-sur-Seine: Arthena,
1985.

Conisbee, Philip. Painting in Eighteenth-century France. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1981.

Crow, Thomas E. Painters and Public Life in Eighteenth-century Paris. New Haven: Yale University
Press, 1985.

Duro, Paul. The Academy and the Limits of Painting in Seventeenth-Century France. Cambridge
Studies in New Art History and Criticism. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1997.

Hyde, Melissa Lee, and Mark Ledbury. Rethinking Boucher. Los Angeles: Getty Research Institute,
2006.

Le Moyne, François, and Emmanuel Ducamp. The Apotheosis of Hercules by François Lemoyne at the
Château De Versailles: History and Restoration of a Masterpiece. Paris: A. de Gourcuff, 2001.

Levey, Michael. Painting and Sculpture in France 1700-1789. Yale University Press, 1995.
Jean Jouvenet, The Raising of Lazarus
Charles de la Fosse, Adoration of the Magi
François Lemoyne, Apotheosis of Hercules
François Boucher Aurora and Cephalus
François Boucher, Venus Requesting Arms for Aeneas
Boucher, Rape of Europa, Paris: Louvre
François Boucher: the Agreeable Lesson
François Boucher, The Rising of the Sun
Francois Boucher, The Setting of the Sun
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33

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