The Eighteenth Century French Paintings

The National Gallery’s collection of eighteenth-century French paintings was last catalogued over sixty years ago. Since then it has been transformed both in size and quality by the addition of works by Danloux, David, Fragonard, Peyron, Subleyras and Vernet among others. The collection, including Boucher, Chardin and Watteau, now encompasses the work of over 30 artists. Taking account of recent scholarship and undertaking new research, Humphrey Wine has looked afresh at these paintings, expanding on their provenance, in many cases incorporating information on their political and social context and fleshing out the lives of identified sitters. New information based on re-examination of each picture is combined with technical photographs and comparative illustrations. The introductory essay considers the attitude of eighteenth-century Britons to the French and to paintings by French contemporaries, and notes many of the French eighteenth-century paintings then passing through London’s salerooms.  

Author

Humphrey Wine was the Curator of French Seventeenth- and Eighteenth-Century Paintings at the National Gallery, London, until 2016. His publications include Claude: The Poetic Landscape (1994) and The Seventeenth-Century French Paintings (2001) in the National Gallery Catalogues series.