Art Flashcards

Front 1

Baroque

Back 1

Louis XIV’s Palace of Versailles featured this style; several traits of this
style (including theatricality, emotional appeal, and luxury) influenced
rococo art; Dutch artists working in this style influenced Chardin; the
“modern” in Modern Rome refers to this period and the Renaissance;
David and Géricault studied artworks completed in this style; The Raft
of the Medusa alludes to this style; print reproductions enjoyed
popularity during this period

Front 2

Chiaroscuro

Back 2

Contrast of light and dark prominent in baroque art; Caravaggio’s use
of this technique inspired David to create bolder paintings; Géricault
alluded to baroque art by using this technique in Raft of the Medusa

Front 3

Classical

Back 3

Includes the art of ancient Greece and Rome as well as the Renaissance

Front 4

Comédie Italienne

Back 4

Style of popular theater; improvised performances borrowed from
standardized plotlines and stock characters; stock characters included a
“miserly” merchant, “pompous” doctor, “clever” and “mischievous”
servant, and various “ill-fated” lovers; emerged in 16th-century Italy;
most popular with 17th- and 18th-century British and French
audiences; banned in France from 1697 to 1715; also known as
“Commedia dell’arte” and “Italian Comedy”

Front 5

Fête galante

Back 5

Genre established by Jean-Antoine Watteau’s Pilgrimage to the Island of
Cythera (1717); featured nobles participating in outdoor activities

Front 6

Gallant mythologies

Back 6

Subcategory of history paintings exploring the romantic tales of
mythological gods; François Boucher often produced paintings in this
genre

Front 7

High rococo

Back 7

Refers to Watteau’s successors, especially François Boucher and Jean-
Honoré Fragonard; featured aristocrats’ favorite subjects: paintings of
aristocratic lifestyles, classical mythology, and idealized peasant life

Front 8

Idyll

Back 8

An idealized scene of rural life

Front 9

Neoclassic

Back 9

Favors the linear style, rationality, and subjects based on Greek or
Roman history and mythology; critics employed gendered terms
during this period; Alexandre Brongniart’s porcelain designs
conformed to this style; art historian Albert Boime considers Greuze a
transitional figure between this period and the rococo era; rococo art
and this style thrived simultaneously in the years leading up to the
French Revolution; Pierre Cartellier, a sculptor who worked on the
Panthéon, was a famous artist from this period; by 1814, French
citizens perceived this style as an icon of Napoleon’s empire and other
post-revolutionary governments; François-André Vincent, a painter
who trained and married Labille-Guiard, worked in this style; Vincent
also passed this style’s influences to Horace Vernet; Portrait of a Young
Man, Self-Portrait with Two Pupils, Bust of Voltaire, and Princesse de
Broglie feature this style

Front 10

Painterly

Back 10

François Boucher worked in this style; artists apply paint liberally and
ignore the constraints of outline; visible brushstrokes characterize most
works completed in this style

Front 11

Rococo

Back 11

Favors colorism, upscale settings, and subjects based on nobles’
lifestyles, erotic mythology, or countryside idylls; the royal court’s
return to Paris from Versailles in 1715 resulted this style; during this
era, Paris transformed into a vibrant, lighthearted, intellectual, and
progressive center of culture; critics employed gendered terms during
this period; originates from the French word rocaille, which describes
shell and pebble decorations in grottoes and gardens; goldsmith Jean-
Claude Duplessis introduced traits of this style to Vincennes porcelain;
art historian Albert Boime considers Greuze a transitional figure
between this period and the neoclassical era; neoclassicism and this
style thrived simultaneously in the years leading up to the French
Revolution; David first established himself in the Royal Academy
during this period

Front 12

Romantic

Back 12

Favors vivid colors, colorism, quick brushstrokes, and subjects based
on emotions, the imagination, the wilderness, or sublime themes;
surfaced in the late 18th century but evolved in the early 19th century
during Napoleon’s rule; this movement turned against Enlightenment
rationality; artists working in this style employed an “intuitive”
approach; Horace Vernet’s accomplishments at the Royal Academy
reflected the growing popularity of this style

Front 13

Riderless horse race

Back 13

Annual event part of Rome’s Carnival; fascinated Géricault and
Horace Vernet; Barb horses native to North Africa ran along the Via
del Corso from the Piazza del Popolo to the Piazza di Venice; the
winning horse received a valuable cloth; no longer practiced

Front 14

Académie des Beaux-Arts

Back 14

The Restoration government replaced the academy David had helped
found in 1795 with this institution; played similar roles to the Royal
Academy of Painting and Sculpture through the Prix de Rome
competitions, Salons, and the French Academy in Rome; this
institution included the École des Beaux-Arts; also known as the
“Academy of Fine Arts”

Front 15

Accademia di San Luca

Back 15

This Italian academy inspired the organization of the Royal Academy
of Painting and Sculpture; Panini taught Jean-Honoré Fragonard and
other students at this academy; Batoni became a member of this
academy by 1741; also known as the “Academy of Saint Luke”

Front 16

French Academy

Back 16

Jean-Baptiste Colbert founded this branch of the Royal Academy of
Painting and Sculpture; located in Rome; trained Prix de Rome
winners; this academy’s directors held great influence over major
artists’ careers; the École des-Beaux Arts controlled this academy after
the French Revolution; former students include Greuze, Boucher,
Jean-Honoré Fragonard, David, Horace Vernet, Houdon, and Ingres;
former teachers include Joseph-Marie Vien, Panini, Horace Vernet,
and Ingres; Ingres directed the Italian branch of this institution

Front 17

Royal Academy of Painting
and Sculpture

Back 17

In 1648, established in Paris under Louis XIV; modeled after Italian
schools such as the Academy of Saint Luke; inspired the organization
of other art academies in the western world; training at this school
required wealth and the approval of an Academy member; established
conservative stylistic preferences in France; advanced students perfected
depictions of the nude; hosted juried exhibitions such as the Prix de
Rome competition; chose the subject for artists participating in the Prix
de Rome competition; Louis XIV, Louis XV, and Louis XVI patronized
favorite artists at this institution, including Prix de Rome winners; this
academy connected aspiring artists to their patrons; former students
include Watteau, Chardin, Greuze, Boucher, David; former members
include Watteau, Chardin, (as a still life painter, treasurer, and Salon
organizer) Greuze, (as a genre scene painter) François Lemoyne,
Boucher, David, Labille-Guiard, and Houdon; former directors
include François Boucher; also known as the “Royal Academy”

Front 18

Place Vendôme

Back 18

Famous public square; location of the Vendôme Column; see Power
Tables – Chronology of the Vendôme Column

Front 19

Panthéon

Back 19

31, 36, 38, 40, 47, IRT) Watteau moved here in 1702; Chardin was born here in 1699; Greuze
moved here at the age of 30 to attend the Royal Academy; Boucher
was born here in 1703; Boucher died here in 1770; David was born
here on August 24, 1748; allied Austrian, Russian, and Prussian forces
captured this city in 1814; Géricault kept a studio in this city; Horace
Vernet was born here in 1789; Horace Vernet died here in 1863;
Delacroix was born near this city in 1798; the Chassériau family
moved here in 1721; Voltaire returned to this city from exile on
February 10, 1778 to model for Houdon; Ingres moved here in 1797
to study under Jacques-Louis David; Ste. Geneviève is the patron saint
of this city

Front 20

Pompeii

Back 20

Prosperous ancient Roman city buried during the eruption of Mount
Vesuvius in A.D. 79; mid-18th-century excavators uncovered well-
preserved frescoes here; sister city of Herculaneum; Grand Tour
travelers frequented this site

Front 21

Herculaneum

Back 21

Prosperous ancient Roman city buried during the eruption of Mount
Vesuvius in A.D. 79; mid-18th-century excavators uncovered well-
preserved frescoes here; sister city of Pompeii; Grand Tour travelers
frequented this site

Front 22

Auricchio, Laura

Back 22

Writes that the canvas in Self-Portrait with Two Pupils may be Self
Portrait with Two Pupils, a portrait of Capet and/or Rosemond, or a
portrait of another person in Labille-Guiard’s studio; in the case of the
third scenario, this art historian proposes that Labille-Guiard
incorporates all viewers of this work as potential future patrons

Front 23

Hyde, Melissa

Back 23

Discusses art critics’ use of gendered terms, such as “feminine”
(implying lackluster morals and frivolity) to describe the tastes of the
faltering ancien régime and “masculine” (implying the linear style and
rationality) to describe neoclassicism

Front 24

Nochlin, Linda

Back 24

Wrote “Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?” in 1971;
claims that male artists’ superior educational opportunities and
restrictions on female artists in academies limited the success of women
artists

Front 25

Count de Staínvílle

Back 25

France’s ambassador to Rome from 1753 to 1757; commissioned
Modern Rome and Ancient Rome; Panini painted a portrait of this count
holding a guidebook in Ancient Rome

Front 26

Madame de Pompadour

Back 26

1721 – 1764; also known as Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson; Louis XV’s
favorite mistresses; favored François Boucher but also supported
Enlightenment philosophes and other styles besides rococo art

Front 27

Trudaine family

Back 27

Prosperous, educated family; commissioned The Death of Socrates;
David and Enlightenment thinkers as well as writers, including André
Chénier, frequented this family’s Salons

Front 28

Napoleon Bonaparte

Back 28

Commissioned
Minerva Protecting the Young King of Rome, Pierre-Paul
Prud’hon’s The King of Rome Sleeping, Gros’s Battle of Eylau, and
Gros’s The Glory of Sainte Geneviève

Front 29

Lord Byron

Back 29

English romantic poet; wrote the epic poem Mazeppa, (1819) which
inspired many romantic artworks, including Géricault’s Mazeppa;
wrote the play Sardanapalus, (1821) which inspired Delacroix’s
painting, Death of Sardanapalus (1828)

Front 30

Madame de Staël

Back 30


1766 – 1817; also known as Germaine de Staël; this author’s Swiss and
French parents were involved in literature and culture before the
French Revolution; this traveler and novelist wrote De l’Allemagne
(Germany), which discouraged Italian classicism as an artistic source
and pressed artists to base their works on medieval France

Front 31

Empress Catherine II of Russia

Back 31

Worked alongside Voltaire in his final years; commissioned
Bust of
Voltaire and Houdon’s portrait bust of Denis Diderot

Front 32

Saint-Yenne, La Font de

Back 32

1688 – 1771; criticized rococo art at the Salon of 1746 in Réflxions sur
quelques causes de l’état présent de la peinture en France, (Reflections on
Some Causes of the Current State of Painting in France) the first
modern art criticism

Front 33

Princesse de Broglie

Back 33

Known as Joséphine-Eléonore-Marie Pauline de Galard de Brassac de
Béarn before her marriage; known as Princesse de Broglie after her
marriage; featured in Ingres’s portrait, Princesse de Broglie
(1851 – 1853)

Front 34

Bleu céleste

Back 34

Turquoise-colored paint created at the Vincennes porcelain factory in
1753; Wine Cooler features this paint

Front 35

Tête nue

Back 35

Bare-headed; describes Bust of Voltaire

Front 36

Vedute

Back 36

“Views,” or realistic paintings of cities, buildings, or monuments

Front 37

Putti

Back 37

images of infant boys; visible in Shepherd’s Idyll and Modern Rome

Front 38

Double-Louis mark

Back 38

This insignia identifies Vincennes porcelain products from
the latter half of the 18th century; two “intertwined” letter
L’s border a letter A with a dot above and below it

Front 39

Academician

Back 39

Member of the Royal Academy; agréé artists submitted a reception
piece in order to gain membership; women rarely achieved this rank

Front 40

Agréé

Back 40

“Accepted,” a preliminary level of membership in the Royal Academy;
women rarely achieved this rank

Front 41

Officier

Back 41

Administrator; only talented or well-connected artists achieved this
post; women could not advance to this rank

Front 42

Prix de Rome

Back 42

The most prestigious prize awarded at the Royal Academy’s
exhibitions; winners received a scholarship to study at the French
Academy in Rome; painters and sculptors vied for this award in
separate competitions; the Royal Academy would assign competitors a
subject, usually from history or the Bible; judges chose the winner
based on his sophisticated treatment of a complex topic, technical skill,
and conformation to the Academy’s stylistic standards; former winners
include François Boucher, (1723) Jacques-Louis David, (Antiochus and
Stratonice, 1774) Carle Vernet, (1782) François-André Vincent,
(1768) Jean-Antoine Houdon, (1761) and Jean-Auguste-Dominique
Ingres, (Achilles Receiving the Ambassadors of Agamemnon, 1801); also
known as the “Rome Prize

Front 43

Reception piece

Back 43

Artists submitted this piece to the Royal Academy in order to become
academicians; also known as a “morceau de reception”

Front 44

Salon

Back 44

Immense art exhibitions hosted annually or biannually in the Louvre;
provided amateur artists with a chance to secure patrons; prominent
Royal Academy members positioned and judged paintings; during the
18th-century, salons also referred to nobles’ parlors and social gatherings
in these parlors

Front 45

Premier Peintre du Roi

Back 45

Louis XV appointed François Boucher to this position in 1765; also
known as “First Painter to the King”

Front 46

Broken Eggs

Back 46

 Greuze was born in Tournus, France
 1755-1757: Traveled to Italy with his patron Gougenot,
where he painted Broken Eggs
 Failed to become a history painter in the Academy
 Enjoyed Diderot’s praise for his moralizing artworks
 Broken Eggs: theatrical, based on 18th-century symbolism
(broken eggs indicated lost virginity)

Front 47

VINCENNES PORCELAIN FACTORY, WINE COOLER

Back 47

1740: Vincennes Porcelain Factory established
 Initially created soft-paste (low clay) porcelain, not
stronger hard-paste porcelain made of kaolin
 Goldsmith Duplessis contributed rococo designs,
including the design for Wine Cooler
 Wine Cooler: rococo pastel hues, turquoise-colored bleu
céleste paint developed at the Vincennes factory

Front 48

JEAN-ANTOINE WATTEAU, MEZZETIN

Back 48

Watteau was born in Valenciennes, France
Trained by Gillot
Pilgrimage to the Island of Cythera founded fête
galante: paintings of nobles in outdoor activities
Copied Dutch and Flemish genre scenes, which
inspired Mezzetin’s colorism and music as a romantic
metaphor
Mezzetin depicts a stock character of Comédie
Italienne
Watteau explores human nature: Mezzetin attempts to
serenade a stone statue with his musical talents
The middle class entered the art market, even though the
elite still held the most influence over art

Front 49

JEAN-SIMEON CHARDIN, SOAP BUBBLES

Back 49

Born to a Parisian cabinetmaker, Chardin could never
afford formal training and was mostly self-trained
 Categorized as a still-life painter in the Royal Academy
 Praised by Diderot for naturalistic genre scenes
indifferent to the period’s decadent rococo art
 Soap Bubbles: viewers reflect upon lower-class life,
childhood leisure, or the fragile human condition

Front 50

FRANÇOIS BOUCHER, SHEPHERD’S IDYLL

Back 50

 Trained with history painter Lemoyne and engraver Cars
 Successful career: won the Prix de Rome, taught history
painting, became director of the Royal Academy
 Favorite painter of Madame de Pompadour
 Preferred ‘‘gallant mythologies,’’ which were history
paintings of mythological love stories involving gods
 Shepherd’s Idyll: one of Boucher’s unrealistic fantasy
pastoral scenes; Diderot criticized him for these

Front 51

Modern Rome by Giovanni Panini

Back 51

Huge, upscale art gallery; red
theater-set-like drapery; rosecolored
marble columns and
arches frame a receding hallway;
paintings cover the walls,
displaying Roman palaces,
fountains, and religious/civic art;
includes Michelangelo’s Moses,
Bernini’s David, Bernini’s Apollo
and Daphne.
Souvenir for the
Count de
Staínvílle’s stay
in Rome

Front 52

The Death
of Socrates
1787
Jacques-
Louis
David

Back 52

Prison-like setting reminiscent of
the Bastille; Apollodorus turns
towards the right edge of the
painting; Crito sits next to
Socrates and listens; at the end
of the bed, Plato turns away and
bows his head; David contrasts
Socrates’s approach to death
with his disciples’ reactionsDavid’s
neoclassicism:
light and lack of
details in the
setting
emphasize
human action,
linear style;
imitates the
restrained
theatricality and
idealized
naturalism of
classical
sculptures

Front 53

The
Triumph of
Aemilius
Paulus
Carle
Vernet

Back 53

Massive history painting;
cheering citizens crowd a street
in Rome; Paulus rides a golden
horse-drawn chariot on the right
side of the composition; includes
a triumphal arch and the
Temple of Jupiter
Seemingly
romantic
landscape,
highly
naturalistic
white horses;
blurs boundaries
between
neoclassicism
and romanticism

Front 54

Minerva
Protecting
the Young
King of
Rome
Joseph-
Antoine
Romagnési

Back 54

Minerva, the Roman goddess of
war and wisdom, stands guard
over Napoleon II; her face is in
profile; the boy possesses
toddler-like figures but stands in
an adult-like pose; Romagnési
executed both Minerva and
Napoleon II in contrapposto
poses; the boy drapes his arm
around the neck of the she-wolf;
the wolf gazes towards
the child Romagnési’s
education under
the neoclassical
sculptor Pierre
Cartellier
Roman symbolism:
the she-wolf

Front 55

Evening:
Landscape
with an
Aqueduct
Théodore
Géricault

Back 55

Wall-sized canvas; Géricault’s
4th largest painting; yellow and
gold sunset, dark blue and gray
clouds, trees, stones, and
buildings melt into the earth; one
nude bather and a traveler
converse in the foreground,
clearly delineated formsVast, fearsome,
powerful, and
beautiful
landscape may
evoke a sublime
reaction

Front 56

The Start
of the Race
of the
Riderless
Horses
Horace
Vernet

Back 56

Only delves into the beginning of
the riderless horse race; five
grooms struggle to control three
horses; a fallen black horse pins
a groom to the ground; two
grooms each attempt to grasp
the brown horse and the white
horse; red drapery decorates the
elevated spectator boxesColoristic
mixture of
brown, gold, and
red contrasted
against the
white horse

Front 57

Stormy Coast Scene after a Shipwreck
Horace Vernet

Back 57

Dramatic seascape; sea and sky
threaten the survivors of a
shipwreck; contrasts cliffs and
water, cliffs and the humans, the
sea and the humans

Front 58

Royal Tiger Eugène
Delacroix

Back 58

Result of a study of a stuffed
dead tiger at the Jardin des
Plants in Paris; nevertheless
incorporates the tiger’s natural
habitat as a background; the
tiger’s eyes and the wispy,
moving clouds add to the
suspense of this scene; richly
colored pelt
Explores the
psychology of
encountering a
wild tiger, an
animal
Europeans only
knew through
travel accounts

Front 59

Young
Jewish
Woman of
Algeria,
Seated
Pompeo
Girolamo
Batoni

Back 59

Upscale setting including a desk
piled with books, papers, and
pens; a relief sculpture from
Hadrian’s villa implies the
subject’s archaeological
knowledge; his casual pose, dog,
and cluttered table create a
spontaneous feel; he wears rich
red and white clothes
embroidered with golden
threads Highly accurate
individual
appearance,
sharply defined
facial features

Front 60

Self-
Portrait
with Two
Pupils
Adélaïde-
Labille
Guiard

Back 60

Located in the artist’s workshop;
Capet holds the back of her
teacher’s chair and eagerly
watches the painting; Rosemond
stands partially in the shadows
but gazes at the viewer with an
affable expression;
Labille-Guiard holds a palette
and paintbrush as though she is
working; she also looks towards
the viewer; features
fashionable clothesBlank canvas
may appeal to
viewers by
indicating them
as likely patrons