Ochre Editions
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Neoclassicism

Europe turns back to Greece and Rome: clear line, calm figures and civic virtue.

109 works · hang 6760 ·

The rooms are imagined; every work on their walls is real.

Walk this roomRehang this room

First room, north wall

  1. Invocation to Love, by Jean Honoré Fragonard, c. 1781
    Invocation to LoveJean Honoré Fragonard, c. 1781Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  2. A work made of oil on masonite.
    SitgesJuan Roig y Soler, 19th centuryCourtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  3. A work made of engraving in black on ivory wove paper.
    George Washington, Front View, from Oeuvre de CanovaAntonio Canova, 1817Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  4. This is a drawing of a group of mythological figures in a ceremonial scene. The composition features multiple figures in various poses, centered around a symbolic gathering. The drawing is detailed, providing a classical representation of human forms, draped fabrics, and an animal. A plateau with trees is subtly depicted in the background. The figures display expressions ranging from serene to contemplative.
    The Nursing of JupiterThéodore ChassériauCourtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington

First room, south wall

  1. Tomb with Sphinxes and an Owl, by Louis Jean Desprez, c. 1779–84
    Tomb with Sphinxes and an OwlLouis Jean Desprez, c. 1779–84Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  2. Portrait of Emma Hamilton, by Angelica Kauffmann, 1791
    Portrait of Emma HamiltonAngelica Kauffmann, 1791Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  3. The image shows a rustic scene with a house, trees, and a figure washing near a stream. Two children stand in the middle distance next to a ladder. In the background are two thatched houses among trees. The drawing style is detailed with fine lines and cross-hatching, creating texture. The color palette is monochromatic in shades of black and gray, emphasizing light and shadow.
    A Fisherman and Two Children in a Landscape with Thatched CottagesSalomon Gessner, 1764Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  4. The Curious One, by Antoine Pierre Mongin, 1823
    The Curious OneAntoine Pierre Mongin, 1823Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art

Second room, south wall

  1. A young woman draws on an oval surface with white chalk while three winged, baby-like putti gather nearby, all on a bank of pale pink clouds in this horizontal painting. The woman and putti have pale, rosy skin, flushed cheeks, and hazel-brown eyes. To our left, the woman reclines with her upper body propped up on her far elbow, which rests on a steel-blue cushion as her legs stretch out to our right. Her light brown hair is braided and wrapped across the top of her head. She wears a loose, seafoam-green robe over a billowing ivory-white garment that has slipped off the shoulder closer to us. A round paint palette with brushes sticking out of its thumb hole and a roll of blue and white paper sit in the lower left corner, behind the woman. The woman and the objects are on a red cloth. In front of the woman is a rounded surface, perhaps a canvas, on which she draws. She holds up a gold-colored stylus with her right hand, closer to us, with a pointed piece of white chalk in one end and black chalk in the other. The canvas is taller than her head, so the child-like putto she draws on it is life-sized. The three nude putti on the far side of the canvas have copper or golden-blond, curly hair, flushed, rounded cheeks, short wings in white or peacock blue, pudgy torsos, and dimpled limbs. One putto, presumably the one the woman draws, sits back on the bank of clouds with a carnation-pink sash across his chest. He pulls his chin back and looks at her from under his eyebrows. He holds a gold-colored torch with a pink flame in one hand, and the other hand rests near a cylindrical quiver of arrows. Another putto peeks around the side of the canvas, and the third stands and props the canvas up. That third putto holds up a wreath of laurel leaves up over the canvas, above the woman’s drawing hand. The bank of clouds is parchment-brown with muted pink and blue highlights against a vivid blue sky. The artist signed and dated the lower right, “F Boucher – 1765.”
    Allegory of PaintingFrançois Boucher, 1765Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  2. A sliver of land across the bottom of this composition gives way to a procession of puffy gray and white clouds sweeping up across a vivid blue, panoramic sky in this horizontal landscape painting. An area of darker gray beyond the brown land could be a valley, mountain, or shadows from the billowing clouds. About one-fifth of the way up the composition, the horizon glows the faintest peach. The clouds trundle from our left up and to our right. The view is loosely painted, especially in the land.
    Study of Clouds over the Roman CampagnaPierre Henri de Valenciennes, c. 1782/1785Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  3. AN OLD WOMAN SPINNING
    An Old Woman SpinningClaude-Louis Desrais, 1810–30Courtesy of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
  4. MARTYRDOM OF ST. ANDREW
    Martyrdom of St. AndrewFrancesco Coghetti, 1825–50Courtesy of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

Second room, north wall

  1. This oval painting depicts a cherubic child in a garden setting. The child is standing with one foot in front of the other and has small wings on their back. The child has light skin, curly blond hair, rosy cheeks, and a playful expression. They are mostly nude, except for a cloth that wraps around their back and covers their groin. The child is holding a golden arrow. They are standing in front of a light green bush with pink flowers. In the bottom left, there is a dark blue object in the green grass that looks like a torch or cylindrical quiver. The setting includes lush greenery and more clusters of pink and white flowers. The background features a pastel blue sky with soft pink clouds and two white doves flying above.
    Love the SentinelJean Honoré Fragonard, c. 1773/1776Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  2. The image depicts a group of people in varying poses and outfits. A central figure, possibly a child, is being held up by a man. Those around them are positioned differently, some standing closely. The figures have detailed faces and wear garments resembling classical attire. Shields and banners decorated with symbols are present in the background. Armor and helmets are scattered on the ground. Trees and a group of people in the distance are part of the background.
    Ancient TeutonsDaniel Nikolaus Chodowiecki, 1782Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  3. This oval painting shows a cherubic child floating mid-air with one leg bent and their arms outstretched. The cherub has curly hair, a round face, and pale skin dusted with rosy pink and light teal shadows. They are smiling gently. The cherub is nude with a draped cloth over one shoulder, and in one hand they hold a flaming torch. Surrounding the cherub are white birds in flight. The background consists of pale blue and soft white clouds, with blooming pink flowers and foliage on the pale green ground.
    Love as FollyJean Honoré Fragonard, c. 1773/1776Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  4. Portrait of white man dressed in all black with medallion and sword.
    Amédée-David, the Comte de PastoretJean Auguste Dominique Ingres, 1823–26Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago