The Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture was founded in the seventeenth century, when France was under King Louis XIV’s rule. The Academy based its teachings on the paintings and theories of art put forth by painter Nicolas Poussin, who had spent most of his working life in Rome. This resulted in the birth of a distinctively French form of classicism that went on to have enduring influences on the styles of French art that followed it. This French classicism is sometimes known as the grande manière.

The Academy regarded history paintings—works which depicted scenes from classical Greek and Roman mythology and literature, as well as the Bible—as the highest genre of art. Prior to that, painters like Claude Lorrain had already developed the classical landscape, a vibrantly lyrical genre that blends elements of history painting into accurate portrayals of nature. It was upon this foundation that the painter Charles Le Brun, one of the Academy’s most influential figures, built its educational framework and established the French classical style.

In his later years, Louis XIV grew to favor art that was more intimate and sensual. This brought about the Rococo movement. Unlike classical artists, whose works were inspired by Greek and Roman classics as well as the Bible, Rococo painters like Antoine Watteau represented the subtleties of the heart through delicate and amorous worlds filled with rich color.

Demand for more straightforward and sensually arresting works emerged against a backdrop of economic prosperity, bringing Rococo art, as exemplified by the works of François Boucher, to its peak. The wealthy began to purchase art for themselves after visiting the Salon exhibitions hosted periodically at the Louvre Palace. This led to a rise in the popularity of portraits, genre paintings, and landscapes. The latter half of the eighteenth century also saw female painters such as Élisabeth-Louise Vigée Le Brun rise to prominence.

The numerous excavations of Pompeii and other Roman ruins around the mid-eighteenth century inspired fresh interest in classical civilizations. This coincided with increasing criticism of Rococo art for being sensuous and superficial, giving rise to the Neoclassical movement.

Napoleon’s campaigns in Egypt and Syria at that time exposed the people of France to unfamiliar cultures, advancing a contrasting yet equally influential art movement in France: Romanticism. This contact with new cultures inspired Romantic artists to begin exploring new themes in their art, such as contemporary subjects, and even the realms of insanity and unconsciousness.

After the French Revolution, art education was led by the restructured Academy of Fine Arts, which sought to train the next generation of artists to carry on the well-established French classical style. This resulted in the emergence of academic painters who highly valued drawing, and strongly advocated licked finishes—smoothed surfaces that show no obvious brushstrokes—in painting.

This section features 17 exemplary drawings from the British Museum and the Louvre, 16 of which are on display in Japan for the first time. Artists create drawings not only as preparation or studies for finished works (oil paintings) or as records of their plans and ideas, but also as training to master painting techniques. Although normally rendered in charcoal on paper, many Rococo artists like Watteau created masterful drawings using white, black, and red chalks.

Regarding photography in the exhibition hall

Photography is permitted only for the following two works: Venetian Feasts and Gabrielle Yolande Claude Martine de Polastron, Duchess of Polignac. The use of flash and tripods is prohibited.

The Splendor of French Baroque Music
Featuring pieces played on period instruments

This event has been canceled.

In order to prevent further spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, this event has been canceled. We apologize for the inconvenience, and we seek your understanding and cooperation.

Come on down to Kyushu National Museum for an afternoon of French Baroque music, featuring seventeenth- to eighteenth-century pieces played on the instruments of that era!

Date:

22 February 2020 (Sat)

Time:

15:00 – 15:45 (Session 1)
17:00 – 17:45 (Session 2)

Venue:

Museum Hall, 1^st Floor, Kyushu National Museum

Musicians:

Ōta Kōhei,
lute

Ōtsubo Yuka,
baroque recorder

Tanaka Takako,
viola da gamba

Program^*:

Couperin, François — Excerpts from Concerts Royaux No. 3 in A Major
Couperin, François — Le rossignol en amour
Marais, Marin — l’Arabesque
Leclair, Jean-Marie — Excerpts from Trio Sonatas
Visée, Robert de — Excerpts from Suites
and more
^*Concert program is subject to change without prior notice from the organizers. We seek your understanding and cooperation.

Admission is free of charge. Registration not required.