The Regency or the appearance of a new style
In French painting, the 18th century really began with the generation of painters whose career began towards the end of the rule of Louis XIV or during the Regency. The marked personality of Watteau has cast something of a shadow on other artists of the period but this painter, born in Valenciennes, is in perfect harmony with his epoch. Although Embarquement pour Cythère, Watteau's 1717 entry into the genre, invented for ceremonial festivities, was not available for lending, this section of the exhibition still provides understanding of the essence of French 18th century painting as it pursued the dream of a grand genre while at the same time humanising it and making it lighter and vaporous.
Pygmalion amoureux de sa statue de Raoux (1717) is an illustration of one of the most fashionable subjects encountered in 18th century painting and literature. From Boucher to Fragonard, Falconet to Pajou, the greatest tried their hands at it.
Persée, assisté par Minerve, pétrifie Phinée et ses compagnons en leur présentant la tête de Méduse (Perseus, helped by Minerva, petrifies Phinea and her companions by showing them the Medusa's head) by Nattier (1718) is another outstanding work by one of the most influential artistic personalities of his time.
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