The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 24, 2024

The Gardener

The Gardener

c. 1723–27
(French, 1690–1743)
Framed: 157 x 43 x 5.5 cm (61 13/16 x 16 15/16 x 2 3/16 in.); Unframed: 151 x 36.5 cm (59 7/16 x 14 3/8 in.)
Location: not on view

Description

This whimsical series is one typically found in fashionable, elite Parisian residences of the eighteenth century. Panel paintings of this variety were created to decorated the space above chair rails and in between doors and windows, and Lancret's series was painted for a room in the Pavillon d'Hauteville in Paris. In keeping with the eighteenth-century French tradition of depicting the four seasons or the times of the day, Lancret's five decorative panels have a unifying theme. Pastoral activities and games, favored themes of Lancret, are the overarching motifs, and depict afternoon pastimes, set in nature. Three of the panels, The Swing, The See Saw, and The Vintage,depict lithe, youthful duets playfully engaging in the outdoor pleasures, while the narrower panels, The Gardener and Horticulture, host individual figures cultivating lush, private gardens. Despite the disparate subjects, stylistic details unify the series, including the delicate arabesques derived from nature that frame the scenes, and similar flora and fauna in each panel.
  • Viscount Pierre de Chezelles and Vicomte Hippolyte le Sellier de Chezelles
    by 1926 - at least 1933
    Lord Duveen, 1869 - 1939 (London, England)
    about 1935-36-1942
    Mr. 'Commodore' Louis Dudley Beaumont (1857-1942) and Mrs. Beaumont (Helene M. Thomas) (1895-1988), Cap d’Antibes, France
    1942-1948
    Louis Dudley Beaumont Foundation, by gift to the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1948.
    1948-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Wildenstein, Georges. Lancret. Paris: G. Servant, 1924. p. 120, mentioned under no. 742
    Detroit Institute of Arts. The Fourth Loan Exhibition of Old Masters: French Paintings of the Eighteenth Century, Detroit Institute of Arts, December 2 to 20, 1926. [Detroit]: [Institute of Arts], 1926. Nos. 32-33
    Detroit Institute of Arts. The Fourth Loan Exhibition of Old Masters: French Paintings of the Eighteenth Century, Detroit Institute of Arts, December 2 to 20, 1926. [Detroit]: [Institute of Arts], 1926. Nos. 32-33
    Maurois, André. Three French Reigns: Louis XIV, XV and XVI. [London]: [publisher not identified], 1933. no. 82.
    "A French Rococo Collection Goes to Cleveland", Art News, XLVII (September 1948). p. 29
    Francis, Henry S. “A Gift of the Louis Dudley Beaumont Foundation.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 35, no. 10 (1948). p. 222, illus. 226-27 www.jstor.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. Reproduced: p. 82-85; Mentioned: p. 82-87
    Holmes, Mary Tavener, and Joseph Focarino. Nicolas Lancret: 1690-1743. New York: H.N. Abrams in association with the Frick Collection, 1992. pp 60-63, cat. No. 3
    Holmes, Mary Tavener, and Joseph Focarino. Nicolas Lancret: 1690-1743. New York: H.N. Abrams in association with the Frick Collection, 1992. pp 60-63, cat. No. 3
    Wintermute, Alan "One of the Great Sponges: The Art of Nicolas Lancret," Apollo (March 1992). p. 191
  • Nicolas Lancret 1690-1743, Frick Collection (Nov. 19, 1991-Jan. 12, 1992); The Kimbell Art Museum (Feb. 15-Apr. 12, 1992).
    Highlights of the Rococo: Norweb Ceramics and Related Arts. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 8, 1983-June 3, 1984).
    Decorative Style. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 8, 1961-January 7, 1962).
    Three French Reigns (Louis XIV, XV, & XVI), London (February 21–April 5, 1933).
    The Fourth Loan Exhibition of Old Masters: French Paintings of the Eighteenth-Century, Detroit Institute of Art. MI (December 2–20, 1926).
  • {{cite web|title=The Gardener|url=false|author=Nicolas Lancret|year=c. 1723–27|access-date=24 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1948.176.1