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Exhibition
From Watteau to Fragonard
les fêtes galantes
The Musée Jacquemart-André is delighted to be holding the exhibition "From Watteau to Fragonard... Les fêtes galantes". There will be approximately sixty works on display, mostly paintings lent for the occasion by major collections, predominantly public, from countries including France, Germany, the UK and the USA.
The poetical term fête galante refers to a new genre of paintings and drawings that blossomed in the early 18th century during the Regency period (1715-1723) and whose central figure was Jean-Antoine Watteau (1684-1721). Inspired by images of bucolic merrymaking in the Flemish tradition, Watteau and his followers created a new form, with a certain timelessness, characterised by greater subtlety and nuance.
These depict amorous scenes in settings garlanded with luxuriant vegetation, real or imaginary: idealised dancers, women and shepherds are shown engaged in frivolous pursuits or exchanging confidences. The poetical and fantastical atmospheres that are a mark of his work are accompanied by a quest for elegance and sophistication characteristic of the Rococo movement, which flourished during the Age of Enlightenment, evidenced in his flair for curved lines and light colours.
The exhibition offers a chance to rediscover the pioneering nature of Watteau’s output. These are works of great creativity, depictions of life outdoors in some of his finest paintings and most accomplished drawings. Nicolas Lancret (1690-1743) and Jean-Baptiste Pater (1695-1725) were greatly influenced by the master, their works revisiting and refining the codes of the fêtes galantes. Their imaginary scenes are anchored in reality, featuring locations, works of art and multiple details that would have been easily recognisable to their contemporaries.
The flexibility of the fête galante theme proved to be an invitation to experimentation and innovation, and the genre was to inspire several generations of artists, occupying a central place in French art throughout the 18th century. Works by other highly creative painters, such as François Boucher (1703-1770) and Jean-Honoré Fragonard (1732-1806), illustrate their very personal visions of the joys of the fête galante as first imagined by Watteau.
The Musée Jacquemart-André, with its marvellous collection of 18th century French paintings, is the perfect setting for an exhibition looking at fêtes galantes. We are particularly pleased that several of the finest drawings from the period, from the collection created by Nélie Jacquemart and Édouard André, will also be on display as part of the exhibition.
The team
The curatorial team
Dr Christoph Martin Vogtherr, Chief Curator of the exhibition.
Dr Christoph Martin Vogtherr studied at the Freie Universität, Berlin, Heidelberg and Trinity College, Cambridge. In 1996 he received his Ph.D. with a thesis on the early history of the Berlin State Museums (1786-1883). In 1995-1996 he worked as Research Assistant at the Akademie der Künste Berlin-Brandenburg. Afterwards, he became Curatorial Assistant at the Stiftung Preußische Schlösser und Gärten Berlin-Brandenburg, Potsdam, then 1998-2007 curator of French and Italian paintings. He was the head of a interdisciplinary research project on the paintings by Watteau, Pater and Lancret in the former Prussian Royal collections supported by the Getty Foundation. The catalogue raisonné of these paintings was published in 2011. In 2007, he became curator of Old Master paintings at the Wallace Collection, in 2010 its Director.
He is the author of numerous publications on French eighteenth-century painting, on eighteenth-century French and German collecting and on museum history. He has curated exhibition on Chardin, Pater and Oudry, Watteau and Jean de Jullienne.
Dr Mary Tavener Holmes, Chief Curator of the exhibition.
Mary Tavener Holmes grew up in Fort Worth, Texas. She received her PhD from the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, working with Donald Posner. For more than 30 years, she has worked as a curator, author and teacher in the field of European art, specializing in eighteenth-century French drawings and paintings. She is the author of numerous publications on that subject, including Nicolas Lancret: Dance before a Fountain and A Magic Mirror: The Portrait in France, 1700-1900, with George T.M. Shackelford. She has written several award-winning non-fiction illustrated children's books, including My Travels with Clara, A Giraffe goes to Paris, and The Elephant from Baghdad (the last two with John Harris). She lives in New York city.
Mr Nicolas Sainte-Fare Garnot, Curator of the exhibition.
An art historian specialising in seventeenth-century French painting, Nicolas Sainte-Fare Garnot has been curator at the Musée Jacquemart-André since 1993. Since his appointment, he has reorganised the distribution of the collections according to the original programme and has initiated various restoration and inventory campaigns.
Scenography
Hubert Le Gall, born in 1961, is a French designer, creator and sculptor of contemporary art. He was elected “Creator of the year” at Maison& Objet 2012. His work has formed the subject of numerous exhibitions throughout Europe. Since 2000 he has produced original scenographies for exhibitions.
