The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 24, 2024

Declaration of Love

Declaration of Love

c. 1720
(French, 1690–1743)
Framed: 103 x 90.5 x 9 cm (40 9/16 x 35 5/8 x 3 9/16 in.); Unframed: 80.1 x 64 cm (31 9/16 x 25 3/16 in.)

Description

A category of painting invented in France in the early 1700s is the fête galante (gallant party), with subject matter that hovers between fantasy and reality. The figures in theatrical costume derive from Italian street performers seen in Paris, while the playful outdoor garden party connects to leisure activities enjoyed by certain Parisian elites. The arts of conversation, music, and painting—all highly valued by French aristocracy—intersect in this work.
  • William Sharp Ogden (1845-1926), Finchley, London
    December 6, 1927
    (Sale: Christie’s, London, December 6, 1927, no. 50)
    [Wildenstein & Co., New York, NY]
    1928-1944
    Elisabeth Severance Prentiss (Mrs. Francis Fleury Prentiss) (1865-1944), Cleveland, OH, gifted to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1944-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • MOCATTA, Ernest G. Catalogue of the Collection of Objects of Art of the 15th, 16th and 17th Centuries, Porcelain and Faience, Formed by Ernest G. Mocatta ... Which, by Order of the Executors, Will Be Sold by Auction by Messrs. Christie, Manson & Woods ... December 6, 1927, Etc. William Clowes & Sons: London, 1927. no. 50
    Catalogue of the Elisabeth Severance Prentiss Collection : Bequest of Elisabeth Severance Prentiss, 1944. [Cleveland]: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1944. Reproduced: p. [6], cat. no. 8; Mentioned: p. 25, cat. no. 8 archive.org
    "Recent Important Acquisitions of American Collections", Art Quarterly, VII, no. 3 (1944). pp. 222-25
    Francis, Henry S. “Paintings in the Prentiss Bequest.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 31, no. 6 (1944). cover, p. 89 www.jstor.org
    Art News, XLIII (October 1, 1944). cover
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 486 archive.org
    Saisselin, Remy G. "The Rococo as a Dream of Happiness," Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, XIX (Winter 1960). p. 150, fig. 2
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 133 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 133 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Catalogue of Paintings, Part 3: European Paintings of the 16th, 17th, and 18th Centuries. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1982. Mentioned: p. 79-81; Reproduced: p, 80
    Rand, Richard, Juliette M. Bianco, and Mark Ledbury. Intimate Encounters: Love and Domesticity in Eighteenth-Century France. [Hanover, N.H.]: Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, 1997. p. 94-96, cat. no. 4
    Paintings in the Cleveland Museum of Art: Picture Book No. 4 . [Cleveland]: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1952. Reproduced: p. 33 archive.org
  • Intimate Encounters: Love and Domesticity in Eighteenth-Century France. Hood Museum of Art (organizer) (October 4, 1997-January 4, 1998); The Toledo Museum of Art (February 14-May 8, 1998); Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (May 26-August 18, 1998).
    Cleveland Museum of Art, 1934: "Art of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries," no catalogue.
    CMA, 1944: "Exhibition of the Eliabeth Severance Prentiss Collection," cat. no. 8, p. 25, color frontispiece.
    Columbus (Ohio) Gallery of Fine Arts, February 4-March 5, 1949: "Hats in History," cat. no. 6.
    Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, April 26-May 31, 1950: "The Eighteenth Century Art of France and England," cat. no. 28, p. 11.
    Ann Arbor, University of Michigan Museum of Art, November 1-November 28, 1951: "Italian, Spanish, and French Paintings of the 17th and 18th Centuries," cat. no. 35, frontispiece; Grand Rapids (Michigan) Art Gallery, December 12 1951-January 9, 1952.
    Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Coe-College Art Gallery, May 16-June 16, 1952: "Centennial Exhibition," cat. no. 10, repr.
    West Palm Beach, Florida, Society of the Four Arts, December 12-1952-January 4, 193: "Eighteenth-Century Masterpieces," cat. no. 13.
    Richmond, Virginia, Museum of Fine Arts, January 20-March 5, 1956: "Les Fêtes Galantes," no catalogue.
    Cleveland Museum of Art, 1956 "The Venetian Tradition," cat. no. 21, p. 25.
    Baltimore Museum of Art, April 25-June 14, 1959: "Age of Elegance: The Rococo and Its Effect," cat. no. 18, illus. p. 47. reproduced on Frontispiece of the Baltimore Museum of Art News.
    Hanover, NH; Toledo Museum of Art (Ohio); Houston, TX; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. "Intimate Encounters: Love and Domesticity in Eighteenth-century France" (10/4/97 - 8/18/98), p. 94-96, cat. no. 4, color repr. p. 95.
    The Venetian Tradition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (November 8, 1956-January 1, 1957).
    Art of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 9-December 2, 1934).
  • {{cite web|title=Declaration of Love|url=false|author=Nicolas Lancret|year=c. 1720|access-date=24 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1944.86