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The Art of Louis-Léopold Boilly: Modern Life in Napoleonic France

February 4 – April 28, 1996
East Building, Mezzanine

Louis-Léopold Boilly, The Public in the Salon of the Louvre, Viewing the Painting of the "Sacre", begun 1808, pen and black ink with gray wash and watercolor over traces of graphite on laid paper, Woodner Collection, 1991.182.8

This exhibition is no longer on view at the National Gallery.

Overview: The first American retrospective of Boilly's work showcased 46 paintings from museums and private collections in North America, Europe, and Australia, including scenes of Parisian leisure, political subjects, still lifes, and caricatures. The show commemorated the 150th anniversary of the artist's death.

Organization: The exhibition was organized by the Kimbell Art Museum and the National Gallery of Art. Susan L. Siegfried, research projects manager for the Getty Art History Information Program, was guest curator. The exhibition was coordinated in Fort Worth by Joachim Pissarro, chief curator at the Kimbell Art Museum, and in Washington by Philip Conisbee, curator of French paintings at the National Gallery.

Sponsor: The exhibition was supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.

Attendance: 68,185

Catalog: The Art of Louis-Léopold Boilly: Modern Life in Napoleonic France, by Susan L. Siegfried. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1995.

Other Venues: Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, November 5, 1995–January 14, 1996

Boilly, Louis-Léopold
French, 1761 - 1845