French Paintings

On View: West Building, Main Floor

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110 artworks on view.

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Light from the upper left falls across a glass, a pitcher, peaches in a basket, and other fruit arranged along a brown tabletop or ledge in this horizontal still life painting. The arrangement fills the height and width of the composition, and the table and most of the back wall are mottled with pecan brown and fern green. The background along the left edge of the composition is in deep shadow behind a translucent, wide-mouthed glass. Thin streaks of pale pink and white create reflections in the glass, and a brown hazelnut sits next to it. Moving right and a little farther back on the table, a tall, cinnamon-brown jug is turned so its handle faces us. A low, woven basket piled with at least six peaches sits next to the jug, filling most of the right half of the painting. The basket is lined with pine-green leaves, and the peaches have butter-yellow highlights. Three pieces of fruit sit on the table in front of the basket and jug: two small, frosty green, round pieces are connected by a shared stem and the larger, third piece of fruit is plum purple.

Fruit, Jug, and a Glass

Jean Siméon Chardin

c. 1726/1728

Oil on canvas  Accession ID  1943.7.4

On View: West Building Main Floor, Gallery M53
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The head, shoulders, and breasts of a woman are carved from white marble in this free-standing sculpture. In this view, the woman’s shoulders angle to our right, and she turns her face back to look off to the left. She has a straight nose, almond-shaped eyes, full cheeks, and a rounded jawline. Her wavy hair is piled atop her head, and a crescent moon with the ends almost meeting in a tight curl is nestled in her hair. A strap crosses her chest between her firm breasts. The arms are cut off just under the shoulders, and the bottom edge of the bust is rounded. It sits on a dark gray turned pedestal and is photographed in front of a light gray background. Writing on the underside of the arm facing us is difficult to make out in this view.

Diana

Jean-Antoine Houdon

1778

Marble  Accession ID  1957.1.1

On View: West Building Main Floor, Gallery M56
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Two pale-skinned women sit together surrounded by five sheep and a dog in a lush forest in this vertical painting. The woman to our right sits slightly above the other, with her arm draped around the shoulders of her companion. The woman to our right wears a low-cut, rose-pink dress with a full skirt and voluminous, gossamer sleeves. Blond curls are pulled back behind a headband, which is adorned over one ear with three large, pink flowers and smaller yellow and blue flowers. She tips her head to our right as she gazes down to her left at her friend. She has blue eyes, flushed cheeks, a delicate nose, and her grapefruit-pink lips curl in a gentle smile. She crosses one knee over the other and leans toward the other woman. Tucked into her side, the second woman looks up at the first in profile facing our right. Her low-cut, lavender-purple dress has a gold shimmer that suggests silk. Her ash-brown curls are pulled back and decorated with small sea-blue flowers. One toe peeks out from her long skirt, and both women are barefoot. The woman in purple holds a white dove on her friend’s lap, and the woman in pink holds a small envelope closed with a shell-pink seal next to the bird. The dove’s wings are slightly outspread, and a blue ribbon is tied around its neck. Just behind the pair, a towering tree with a silvery-gray trunk grows up and off the top edge of the painting. It angles to our left, and green branches hang down into the picture. To our right of the tree, a rectangular sand-brown stone structure is topped with a male lion carved from the same stone, near the upper right corner. The ground beneath the women is covered with moss-green growth and the space around them filled with verdant bushes and plants. A single, cream-colored sheep stands to our right, facing the women, next to a basket of flowers near the lower right corner. Four more sheep stand and lie together beyond the women to our left, while a black-bodied hound with a white muzzle sits watching the women. A pile of broken branches, perhaps forming a fence, lies behind the sheep. Grassy hills and trees become hazy in the distance beyond, and the sky above is slate blue with a few white and pale pink clouds. The upper and lower right corners and the lower left corner are deep in shade. The artist signed and dated the painting as if he had inscribed the stone in the shadow just below the lion, “f. Boucher 1750.”

The Love Letter

François Boucher

1750

Oil on canvas  Accession ID  1960.6.3

On View: West Building Main Floor, Gallery M55
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The sculpture is a bust of a man looking upward and to the right, depicted from his chest up. The man has a strong brow, a round nose, a soft jawline, and small lips in a neutral expression. His forehead is wide, with long hair emerging from the sides of his head and curling around his ears. He is depicted wearing a buttoned shirt or vest with a low vee neckline, a ruffled collar, and a coat over the shirt. His arms are cut off just below the shoulder. The sculpture is made from a smooth white material with subtle gray variations in tone. The bust sits on a tiered pedestal with a square base, inscribed at the front with the name "CAGLIOSTRO."

Giuseppe Balsamo, Comte di Cagliostro

Jean-Antoine Houdon

1786

Marble  Accession ID  1952.5.103

On View: West Building Main Floor, Gallery M56
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A man sitting in a tall, upholstered armchair reads a newspaper in this vertical portrait painting. The man and the room in which he sits is loosely painted with bold, visible strokes throughout. He holds the paper close to his face, and the top edge falls over so we can read the title, “L’EVENEMENT.” He has a light, olive-toned complexion, and his white hair peeks from under a close-fitting black cap. He wears a high-necked white shirt under a chocolate-brown jacket, steel-gray trousers, white socks, and camel-brown shoes. The fabric on the chair is painted with broad brushstrokes to create a loose floral pattern on a white background. The man and chair are outlined in black. The man sits in the corner of a room with a closed door behind him to our right. Hanging on the wall over his head, and partially obscured by it, is a small, possibly unframed, still life painting with what could be kelly-green fruit and a royal-blue cup against a black background.

The Artist's Father, Reading "L'Événement"

Paul Cezanne

1866

Oil on canvas  Accession ID  1970.5.1

On View: West Building Main Floor, Gallery M90
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This painting depicts a young boy sitting in a relaxed position, with his right arm leaning on a black surface. He has pale skin, wide eyes, and a small, slightly downturned mouth. He is wearing a dark, wide-brimmed hat, a light-colored jacket over a white shirt, dark trousers, and what appear to be foot coverings made of wrapped cloth. The background shows a simple setting: a pale greenish wall, a framed piece of art or a window, and a block of wood on the floor in the corner of the image. The brushstrokes in the painting are visible, especially those in the floor and the boy's jacket.

Italian Peasant Boy

Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot

1825/1827

Oil on paper on canvas  Accession ID  1963.10.8

On View: West Building Main Floor, Gallery M92
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The sculpture depicts a person with wings leaning on a large, curved bow. The person is shown in a forward-leaning posture, with one hand grasping the top of the bow and the other holding the center. The person's hair is styled in waves and tied with a headband, and they appear to be nude. Behind their legs is a large shield with what seems to be the pelt of a lion hanging over it. The person is perched on a circular base with elements like a snake and a dagger. The sculpture has a smooth texture and is predominantly white with gray veining.

Cupid

Edme Bouchardon

1744

Marble  Accession ID  1952.5.93

On View: West Building Main Floor, Gallery M54
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A mostly nude young woman carved from cream-white marble sits on a rock formation in this free-standing sculpture. In this photograph, her body faces us, but her head turns to our left. She has a long nose and small mouth. Her wavy, upswept hair is wrapped across the top with a braid that hangs down the back of her neck, over her shoulder, and it falls between her breasts. With her left hand, to our right, up near her shoulder, she holds one end of a cloth that wraps around her back and across her hips. Her other hand rests down by her side and holds a shell with shallow grooves. Her left foot extends slightly forward of the right, making the knees uneven. At her feet lie two stylized sea creatures with round heads, deep-set eyes, and large lips that emerge from choppy waves. The sculpture sits on a veined, pink marble base carved with the word “GALATEE.” The background is fog gray, and the sculpture casts a shadow to our right.

Galatea

Robert Le Lorrain

1701

Marble  Accession ID  1952.5.105

On View: West Building Main Floor, Gallery M54
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Three apples and two pears sit next to a knife and a luminous, white mug on a tan, stone surface before a muted, olive-green background in this horizontal still life painting. The objects and background are painted with blended strokes, giving the painting a soft, glowing appearance. At the center of the ledge or table, the apples are dappled with candy red and pale yellow. Two golden and moss-green pears are to our left, one upright and the other lying with its stem coming toward us. The fruit is painted with white highlights from a light source to our left. The cream-white mug sits next to the apples to our right. The mug has straight sides, a low band near the top and bottom, and the handle curves out to our right. Between the apples and mug, the black handle of a knife angles to our right, off the edge of the table. Shadows are painted in brick red on the surface of the table, which extends off both sides of the canvas. There is a vertical seam in the table under the upright pear.

Still Life with a White Mug

Jean Siméon Chardin

c. 1764

Oil on canvas  Accession ID  1972.9.6

On View: West Building Main Floor, Gallery M53
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A light-skinned man with thick black hair and a squared off black beard, dressed in a black jacket over a gray vest and gray trousers, sits facing us in this vertical portrait painting. This work is loosely painted with visible brushstrokes so some details are difficult to make out. The man's body faces us but he looks down and to our left. The tip of his nose almost matches the coral red of his lips. Two pale peach patches below his mouth break up his beard on his pointed chin. His hands, closed into fists, rest on his thighs, which are cropped by the bottom of the canvas. He wears several layers of clothing. The open black jacket reveals a charcoal-gray vest with a V-shaped opening over another black garment, perhaps an undervest. This is worn over a white shirt, which is visible as bright traingles at this throat and white cuffs at his wrists. The white shirt seems to be tied with a black tie and possibly a gray cravat, but this area is broadly painted. The background is painted with gray strokes over black. The artist signed the painting in black paint in the lower right corner, though it is barely visible: “P. Cezanne.”

Antony Valabrègue

Paul Cezanne

1866

Oil on canvas  Accession ID  1970.35.1

On View: West Building Main Floor, Gallery M90
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Shown from the lap up, a bearded, pale-skinned man wearing a suit faces our left in profile in this vertical portrait painting. The man looks down at an open book on his lap. He has a prominent, straight nose, high cheekbones, and the corner of his mouth turns down. His gleaming black hair is cut short and parted along the left, and his beard is trimmed. He wears a black vest and suit jacket, a black ascot polka dotted with white, and his white shirt is visible at the high collar and cuffs. A blue flower is threaded through his lapel, and he wears chestnut-brown pants. He holds one side of the book open with his left hand, closer to us, and holds a partially smoked, thin cigar with this other. The wood-framed chair has a curved, round-topped back. The background deepens from peanut-brown along the right to almost black near the top left corner. The artist signed and dated the painting at the top left, “F. Bazille. 1869.”

Edmond Maître

Frédéric Bazille

1869

Oil on canvas  Accession ID  1985.64.2

On View: West Building Main Floor, Gallery M90
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The painting depicts three children within an oval frame, their upper bodies visible. The central child, a young girl, is positioned with her body facing forward and her head turned slightly to the left. She has a fair complexion, with rosy cheeks, pink lips, and wide brown eyes. Her hair is gray and partially pulled back by a blue ribbon. She is dressed in a white garment with a yellow shawl draped over her shoulders. Her arms are outstretched, holding the ends of a cloth that has been pinned on her dress. Her arms and the cloth extend forward beyond the oval frame that encircles the trio, as if the frame is a window or porthole that she is reaching out of. On the right, a boy leans on the girl's shoulder, also facing to the left, seen in profile. He has light brown, curly hair and a fair complexion. He wears a dark blue-green jacket over a white collar, and he is looking upward towards the third child. On the left, another boy, who also has light skin and light brown curly hair, appears to stand on a chair above the other two children. He is holding a long yellow straw up to his lips. At the other end of the straw, a large bubble hangs over the white cloth that the girl holds out. In his other hand is a small white dish. He wears a muted brown outfit with a dark cloth wrapped around him. The background within the frame is plain gray, and the frame that surrounds the children is light gray and appears to be carved with leaf designs. Beyond the oval frame is gray.

Soap Bubbles

Charles Amédée Philippe Van Loo

1764

Oil on canvas  Accession ID  1945.10.2

On View: West Building Main Floor, Gallery M53
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