Souvenirs of travel to Italy. The Neoclassical style of ornamentation, very fashionable under Louis XVI, the Directory, and the Empire, fostered the creation and dissemination of works of art influenced by Greco-Roman art. During their travels to Italy, passionate collectors and artists brought back boxes of molded miniatures as typical souvenirs or as subjects for study, drawing inspiration from classical themes. These boxes reflect the taste for Antiquity and the spread of classical models in 19th-century Europe.
This delicate watercolor depicts two elegantly dressed young girls.
This image conveys the refinement and gentleness of early 20th-century bourgeois childhood.
The decoration of this turban stand is characteristic of the Rococo style introduced to the Ottoman Empire during the Tulip Period, a time of openness to Western artistic influences in the 18th century. The decorative technique employed, known as Edirnekâri, refers to a tradition of sculpture and polychromy developed by artisans in the city of Edirne, in western Turkey.
Ottoman Empire, Turkey
Late 18th century
An elegant oval miniature attributed to Robert Field (1769–1819), depicting a bust-length portrait of an admiral in his blue uniform, adorned with epaulettes and gold embroidery. The sitter is shown in three-quarter view against a delicately shaded blue background, highlighting the refined features of his face.
Rare day bed, sculpted wood, original polychromy, to recover
Epoch Directoire
France
It consists of a deep Imari-type porcelain plate, in particularly bright colors, deep blue, bright white and intense red.
The gilded bronze frame is in keeping with the spirit typical of the Louis XV style.
Charming Napoleon III period coffee table with a rectangular top featuring raised edges, decorated with a Japanese-style genre scene against a black background.
France XIX century
Primarily used for serving tea, it is a fine example of a Cantonese export item, combining the exoticism of Far Eastern landscapes with the refinement of the Second Empire style.
France, 19th century
Important paneled mirror from Beaucaire, South of France, its wooden frame composed of a flowers and foliage decor and surmounted by a central cartridge with a basket of openwork flowers.
XVIIIth century, Provence, France
This large-format painting depicts the Last Judgement. The scene shows an angel holding a trumpet, accompanied by two cherubs, standing on a cloud and holding the eternal Gospel, on which we can read in Latin: ‘Timete Dominum, quia venit hora judicii ejus: et adorate eum, qui fecit caelum, et terram, mare, et fontes aquarum.’ This warning is preceded in the texts by: “Then I saw another angel flying in the zenith. He had an eternal Gospel to proclaim to all the inhabitants of the earth, to every nation, tribe, language and people. He cried out with a loud voice: Fear God and give him glory, for the hour has come when he will judge. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs.” This is a passage from the Apocalypse of St. John 14:7.
In this painting, we can see an iconographic variation that focuses mainly on the tone given to this scene. While most representations of the Apocalypse depict this scene with an intention of gravity and “chaos”, this painting seems, on the contrary, to announce good news, the triumph of good over evil, of God over Satan.
While depictions of the Last Judgement often show a contrast between the peace of heaven and the chaos on earth, this is partly to highlight the ‘heavenly glory’ of the righteous in contrast to the wicked, who will suffer eternal shame and torment. This eschatological thinking was central to society in the 15th and 16th centuries, as the ‘end of the world’ was a source of great concern to the population.
While this iconography is widely developed in many religious buildings, through frescoes and sculpted tympanums, we can also see it incorporated into tapestry and painting.