Tête-à-tête

1764

François Boucher

Associated Names
François Boucher

Artist, French, 1703 - 1770

This is a drawing of a pastoral scene with two people sitting together with a small dog amidst nature. In the center of the drawing, the people are reclining on the ground, surrounded by leaves, tree trunks, and a low wall on the left. The people, a man and a woman, have their arms around one another, the woman sitting partially in the man's lap. They both have light skin and light hair, and she wears a long dress with a low neckline, and he appears to wear a tunic and has a wide-brimmed hat sitting in his lap. Their faces are close together, and they are looking at each other. The surrounding environment includes dense trees and overgrown shrubs, and on the left is a stone wall that appears to be half-built or in ruins, with a small fountain at its center. Near the bottom left corner, a small dog sits by the couple, looking up at them.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    black chalk heightened with white on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Widener Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall: 33.5 x 23.1 cm (13 3/16 x 9 1/8 in.)
    support: 38.4 x 28.2 cm (15 1/8 x 11 1/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1942.9.657

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Ananoff 1966, no. 248

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Inheritance from the Estate of Peter A. B. Widener by gift through power of appointment of Joseph E. Widener, Elkins Park, 1942.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1936

  • Drawings, Lyman Allyn Museum, New London, CT, 1936, no. 95.

1940

  • Master Drawings: An Exhibition of Drawings from American Museums and Private Collections, Palace of Fine Arts, Golden Gate International Exposition, San Francisco, CA, 1940, no. 7, repro.

1944

  • French Prints and Drawings of the XVIIIth Century, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1944-1945, no catalogue.

1950

  • Masterpieces of Drawing: Diamond Jubilee Exhibition, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1950-1951, no. 66, repro.

1961

  • An Exhibition of French Masters: Rococo to Romanticism. UCLA Art Galleries, Los Angeles, 1961, no. 27.

1978

  • Master Drawings from the Collection of the National Gallery of Art and Promised Gifts, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1978, p. 84.

1997

  • Six Centuries/Six Artists, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1997.

Bibliography

1966

  • Ananoff, Alexandre. L'oeuvre dessine de Francois Boucher (1703-1770). Paris, 1966.

1973

  • Slatkin 1973, 82.

1984

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 675, no. 1080, color repro.

Inscriptions

lower center in graphite: fBoucher / 1764

Wikidata ID

Q64569740

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