The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 28, 2024

Music and Dance and Cupids in Conspiracy

Music and Dance and Cupids in Conspiracy

1740s
(French, 1703–1770)
Framed: 77.5 x 131.5 x 6 cm (30 1/2 x 51 3/4 x 2 3/8 in.); Unframed: 69 x 123 cm (27 3/16 x 48 7/16 in.)

Description

Along with Cupids in Conspiracy (1948.181.2), this work is surely part of a series of over-door paintings that would have been installed in a house. However, where the panels were originally installed or who commissioned them remains unknown. They exemplify the fusion of fine arts and decorative arts that was common in elite interior design in 18th-century France. Even though the paintings were part of the wall decoration of the room, the patrons chose François Boucher, a well-known painter of portraits and genre scenes, as well as mythological and religious subjects, to execute them. These two paintings reflect a style that was popular both at court and among other wealthy patrons through much of the eighteenth century: light, charming, pastoral scenes that mix classical elements with pure fantasy. Both of them feature putti, chubby baby characters that add a touch of humor to the images.
  • J. Carpenter Gamier, Rookesbury Park, Fareham, England
    July 13, 1895
    (Sale: Christie's, London, England, July 13, 1895)
    1895-
    A. Werthemeyer
    Baron Gustav Neufeld von Schoeller (?), Vienna, Austria
    [Duveen Brothers, New York, NY]
    Commodore and Mrs. Louis Dudley Beaumont, Cap d'Antibes, France
    -1948
    Louis Dudley Beaumont Foundation, gifted to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1948-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Christie, Manson & Woods. Catalogue of Important Pictures by Old Masters and of the Early English School: Including Masterpieces of Murillo, Jacob Ruysdael and Weenix, from the Clewer Manor Collection, Also Choice Examples of Watteau, Hobbema & W.V. De Velde the Property of a Nobleman, Also the Family Portraits of the Late Sir John Chandos Reade, Sixth Baronet, Fine Works of Canaletto & Rembrandt, the Property of J. Carpenter Garnier, Esq., the Celebrated Engraved Portrait of Admiral Viscount Nelson, by J. Hoppner, R.A., the Property of the Rt. Hon. Viscound Bridport, and Other Fine Portraits by T. Gainsborough, R.A., Sir J. Reynolds, G. Romney, &C. London: Printed by Wm. Clowes & Sons, Ltd, 1895.
    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. cat. no. 3
    Wadsworth Atheneum. Loan Exhibition of French Art of the Eighteenth Century: Morgan Memorial, Hartford, January 23, to February 6, 1929. [Hartford]: [Morgan Memorial], 1929. cat. no. I
    Maurois, André. Three French Reigns: Louis XIV, XV and XVI. [London]: [publisher not identified], 1933. cat. nos. 1 and 117
    Francis, Henry S. “A Gift of the Louis Dudley Beaumont Foundation.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 35, no. 10 (1948). pp. 223-4, 228 www.jstor.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 488 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 135 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. 135 archive.org
    Cleveland Museum of Art. Catalogue of Paintings. Pt. 3. European Paintings of the 16th, 17th, and 18th Centuries. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1974. Reproduced: cat. 22, p. 51 - 53
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 177 archive.org
    Ananoff, Alexandre, "The New Boucher Catalogue," Burlington Magazine, CXXI (July 1979). 444 ("Letters" section);
    Boucher, François, Alexandre Ananoff, and Daniel Wildenstein. L'opera completa di Boucher. Milano: Rizzoli, 1980. p. 100, nos. 194 and 195
    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. 51-53; Reproduced: p. 52
    Landau, Ellen G. “‘A Fairytale Circumstance’ the Influence of Stage Design on the Work of François Boucher.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 70, no. 9 (1983). 360-72 www.jstor.org
    Bailey, Colin B. The First Painters of the King: French Royal Taste from Louis XIV to the Revolution. New York, N.Y.: Stair Sainty Matthiesen, 1985. p. 128. no. 17
    Hunter-Stiebel, Penelope, Philippe Le Leyzour, Olivier Baumont, Noémi Rime, Vincent Lievre-Picard, Olivier Baumont, François Bazola, Destouches, and Philibert Cardonne. La Volupté Du Goût: French Painting in the Age of Madame De Pompadour. Paris: Somogy, 2008. cat. no. 2, p. 102-103
  • French Painting of the Eighteenth Century, Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI (December 2-20, 1926).
    A Voluptuous Taste: French Painting in the Age of Madame de Pompadour. Musée des Beaux-Arts de Tours, Tours, France (October 11, 2008-January 12, 2009); Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR (organizer) (February 7-May 17, 2009).
    Three French Reigns, Louis XIV, XV, XVI, Royal Northern Hospital, London, 25 Park Lane, (February 21-April 5, 1933).
    French Art of the Eighteenth Century, Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford CT (January 23-February 6, 1929).
  • {{cite web|title=Music and Dance and Cupids in Conspiracy |url=false|author=François Boucher|year=1740s|access-date=28 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1948.181