The second chapter in ‘European Masterpieces from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York’ ‘Absolutism and Enlightenment’ takes us through the Italian Baroque, Dutch Golden Age, French Rococo and Neoclassical movements. These 30 works, together with those in ‘Devotion and Renaissance’ and ‘Revolution and Art for the People’, tell stories of Europe across 500 years, and the pivotal role art plays in reflecting and reshaping history.

Heightened emotion and theatricality were predominant characteristics of the Baroque movement, which began in Rome in the 1600s and spread through Europe until the mid-1700s. Scenes of domesticity, celebration and commerce ― known as genre painting ― emerged during the Dutch Golden Age at this time, as painters responded to the religious rupture of the Protestant Reformation and new wealth brought about through trade with the Americas and Asia. 

By the end of the 1600s, English, Spanish and French kings had challenged the authority of the Pope—some claiming their sovereign right to rule was divinely ordained. Increasingly, artists were employed by European kings and queens, with the court gradually displacing the Church as the primary source of artistic patronage. The highly decorative style known as Rococo, and its characteristic pastel shades and elaborate ornamentation were well-suited to subjects of love, music and leisure.

By the end of the eighteenth century, the spread of Enlightenment ideas began to threaten the king’s absolute power. Tensions came to a head with the French Revolution of 1789, when the French monarchy was violently overthrown.

LIST OF WORKS: Discover all the artworks

DELVE DEEPER: More about the artists and exhibition

THE STUDIO: Artworks come to life

WATCH: The Met Curators highlight their favourite works

List of works in ‘Absolutism and Enlightenment’

Peter Paul Rubens
Flanders 1577–1640
The Holy Family with Saints Francis and Anne and the Infant Saint John the Baptist early or mid 1630s
Oil on canvas
176.5 x 209.6cm
Gift of James Henry Smith, 1902 / 02.24

‘The Holy Family with Saints Francis and Anne and the Infant Saint John the Baptist’ early or mid 1630s

Guido Cagnacci
Italy 1601–63
The Death of Cleopatra c.1645–55
Oil on canvas
95 x 75cm
Purchase, Diane Burke Gift, Gift of J Pierpont Morgan, by exchange, Friends of European Paintings Gifts, Gwynne Andrews Fund, Lila Acheson Wallace, Charles and Jessie Price, and Álvaro Saieh Bendeck Gifts, Gift and Bequest of George Blumenthal and Fletcher Fund, by exchange, and Michel David-Weill Gift, 2016 / 2016.63

The Death of Cleopatra c.1645–55

Velázquez (Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez)
Spain 1599–1660
Portrait of a Man c.1635
Oil on canvas
68.6 x 55.2cm
The Jules Bache Collection, 1949 / 49.7.42

‘Portrait of a Man’ c.1635

Velázquez (Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez) Portrait of a Man c.1635

Velázquez and his studio
(1623–60)
Don Gaspar de Guzmán (1587–1645), Count-Duke of Olivares c.1636 or later
Oil on canvas
127.6 x 104.1cm
Fletcher Fund, 1952 / 52.125

‘Don Gaspar de Guzmán (1587–1645), Count-Duke of Olivares’ c.1636 or later

Salvator Rosa
Italy 1615–73
Self-Portrait c.1647
Oil on canvas
99.1 x 79.4cm
Bequest of Mary L Harrison, 1921 / 21.105

Pieter Claesz
The Netherlands 1596/97–1660
Still Life with a Skull and a Writing Quill 1628
Oil on wood
24.1 x 35.9cm
Rogers Fund, 1949 / 49.107

‘Still Life with a Skull and a Writing Quill’ 1628

Bartolomé Estebán Murillo
Spain 1617–82
Virgin and Child c.1670s
Oil on canvas
165.7 x 109.2cm
Rogers Fund, 1943 / 43.13

Annibale Carracci
Italy 1560–1609
Two Children Teasing a Cat c.1587–88
Oil on canvas
66 x 88.9cm
Purchase, Gwynne Andrews Fund, and Bequests of Collis P Huntington and Ogden Mills, by exchange, 1994 / 1994.142

‘Two Children Teasing a Cat’ c.1587–88

Caravaggio (Michelangelo Merisi)
Italy 1571–1610
The Musicians 1597 (illustrated in video highlight by Keith Christiansen, John Pope-Hennessy Chairman of the Department of European Paintings, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)
Oil on canvas
92.1 x 118.4cm
Rogers Fund, 1952 / 52.81

The Musicians 1597

Georges de La Tour
France 1593–1653
The Fortune-Teller c.1630s (illustrated in video highlight by Keith Christiansen, John Pope-Hennessy Chairman of the Department of European Paintings, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)
Oil on canvas
101.9 x 123.5cm
Rogers Fund, 1960 / 60.30

‘The Fortune-Teller’ c.1630s

Simon Vouet
France 1590–1649
Woman Playing a Guitar c.1618 (illustrated in video highlight by Keith Christiansen, John Pope-Hennessy Chairman of the Department of European Paintings, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)
Oil on canvas
106.5 x 75.8cm
Purchase, 2017 Benefit Fund; Lila Acheson Wallace Gift; Mary Trumbull Adams and Victor Wilbour Memorial Funds; Friends of European Paintings and Henry and Lucy Moses Fund Inc. Gifts; Gift of Julia A Berwind, by exchange; Charles and Jessie Price, Otto Naumann, Mr and Mrs Richard L Chilton Jr, and Sally and Howard Lepow Gifts; Charles B Curtis Fund; and Theodocia and Joseph Arkus Gift, 2017 / 2017.242

‘Woman Playing a Guitar’ c.1618

Keith Christiansen highlights Caravaggio’s The Musicians 1597, Georges de La Tour’s The Fortune-Teller c.1630s and Simon Vouet’s Woman Playing a Guitar c.1618

Jean Siméon Chardin
France 1699–1779
Soap Bubbles c.1733–34
Oil on canvas
61 x 63.2cm
Wentworth Fund, 1949 / 49.24

‘Soap Bubbles’ c.1733–34

Nicolas Poussin
France 1594–1665
Saints Peter and John Healing the Lame Man 1655
Oil on canvas
125.7 x 165.1cm
Marquand Fund, 1924 / 24.45.2

‘Saints Peter and John Healing the Lame Man’ 1655

Claude Lorrain (Claude Gellée)
France c.1604/05–82
Sunrise c.1646–47
Oil on canvas
102.9 x 134cm
Fletcher Fund, 1947 / 47.12

Jacob van Ruisdael
The Netherlands 1628/29–82
Grainfields mid or late 1660s
Oil on canvas
47 x 57.2cm
The Friedsam Collection, Bequest of Michael Friedsam, 1931 / 32.100.14

Johannes Vermeer
The Netherlands 1632–75
Allegory of the Catholic Faith c.1670–72 (illustrated in video highlight by Adam Eaker, Assistant Curator of European Paintings, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)
Oil on canvas
114.3 x 88.9cm
The Friedsam Collection, Bequest of Michael Friedsam, 1931 / 32.100.18

‘Allegory of the Catholic Faith’ c.1670–72

Rembrandt (Rembrandt van Rijn)
The Netherlands 1606–69
Flora c.1654 (illustrated in video highlight by Adam Eaker, Assistant Curator, Department of European Paintings, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)
Oil on canvas
100 x 91.8cm
Gift of Archer M Huntington, in memory of his father, Collis Potter Huntington, 1926 / 26.101.10

‘Flora’ c.1654

Adam Eaker highlights Johannes Vermeer’s Allegory of the Catholic Faith c.1670–72 and Rembrandt’s Flora c.1654

Meyndert Hobbema
The Netherlands 1638–1709
Woodland Road c.1670
Oil on canvas
94.6 x 129.5cm
Bequest of Mary Stillman Harkness, 1950 / 50.145.22

Aelbert Cuyp
The Netherlands 1620–91
Equestrian Portrait of Cornelis (1639–1680) and Michiel Pompe van Meerdervoort (1638–1653) with Their Tutor and Coachman c.1652–53
Oil on canvas
109.9 x 156.2cm
The Friedsam Collection, Bequest of Michael Friedsam, 1931 / 32.100.20

Pieter de Hooch
The Netherlands 1629–84
Paying the Hostess c.1670
Oil on canvas
94.6 x 111.1cm
Gift of Stuart Borchard and Evelyn B Metzger, 1958 / 58.144

Gabriël Metsu
The Netherlands 1629–67
A Musical Party 1659
Oil on canvas
62.2 x 54.3cm
Marquand Collection, Gift of Henry G Marquand, 1890 / 91.26.11

‘A Musical Party’ 1659

Jan Steen
The Netherlands 1626–79
Merry Company on a Terrace c.1670
Oil on canvas
141 x 131.4cm
Fletcher Fund, 1958 / 58.89

‘Merry Company on a Terrace’ c.1670

Jean-Baptiste Greuze
France 1725–1805
Broken Eggs 1756
Oil on canvas
73 x 94cm
Bequest of William K Vanderbilt, 1920 / 20.155.8

‘Broken Eggs’ 1756

Antoine Watteau
France 1684–1721
Mezzetin c.1718–20
Oil on canvas
55.2 x 43.2cm
Munsey Fund, 1934 / 34.138

‘Mezzetin’ c.1718–20

François Boucher
France 1703–70
The Toilette of Venus 1751
Oil on canvas
108.3 x 85.1cm
Bequest of William K Vanderbilt, 1920 / 20.155.9

Jean Honoré Fragonard
France 1732–1806
The Two Sisters c.1769–70
Oil on canvas
71.8 x 55.9cm
Gift of Julia A Berwind, 1953 / 53.61.5

‘The Two Sisters’ c.1769–70

Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun
France 1755–1842
Comtesse de la Châtre (Marie Charlotte Louise Perrette Aglaé Bontemps, 1762–1848) 1789
Oil on canvas
114.3 x 87.6cm
Gift of Jessie Woolworth Donahue, 1954 / 54.182

‘Comtesse de la Châtre (Marie Charlotte Louise Perrette Aglaé Bontemps, 1762–1848)’ 1789

Marie Denise Villers
France 1774–1821
Marie Joséphine Charlotte du Val d’Ognes (died 1868) 1801
Oil on canvas
161.3 x 128.6cm
Mr and Mrs Isaac D Fletcher Collection, Bequest of Isaac D Fletcher, 1917 / 17.120.204

‘Marie Joséphine Charlotte du Val d’Ognes (died 1868)’ 1801

Sir Joshua Reynolds
England 1723–92
Lady Smith (Charlotte Delaval) and Her Children (George Henry, Louisa, and Charlotte) 1787
Oil on canvas
140.7 x 112.1cm
Bequest of Collis P Huntington, 1900 / 25.110.10

‘Lady Smith (Charlotte Delaval) and Her Children (George Henry, Louisa, and Charlotte)’ 1787

Francesco Guardi
Italy 1712–93
Venice from the Bacino di San Marco c.1765–75
Oil on canvas
121.9 x 152.4cm
Bequest of Adele L Lehman, in memory of Arthur Lehman, 1965 / 65.181.8

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This Australian-exclusive exhibition was at the Gallery of Modern Art from 12 June until 17 October 2021 and organised by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, in collaboration with the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art and Art Exhibitions Australia.

The order of artworks in ‘Absolutism and Enlightenment’ by Katharine Baetjer, Curator Emerita, Department of European Paintings, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
All works are Collection: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Dimensions are given in centimetres (cm), height preceding width.

Featured image detail: Georges de La Tour The Fortune-Teller c.1630s
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