Items Similar to French School Courting Pastoral Scenes, 18th Century
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 8
French SchoolFrench School Courting Pastoral Scenes, 18th CenturyCirca 1750
Circa 1750
About the Item
French School
18th Century
Pastoral Scenes
Oil on canvas
A delightful pair of 18th-century pastoral scenes, this charming set of oil paintings depicts two quintessential tableaus of whimsical countryside life. The mirroring monumental compositions each show shepherdess damsels indulging the romantic advances of would-be casanovas, with one romancer wooing his lady with a white dove and the other charming his paramour with the sweet sounds of music. Painted by a talented artist of the French school, these stunning works are rendered in the rococo tradition of pastoral lovers championed by painters like Boucher and Fragonard.
Beautifully preserved and deftly executed, the paintings display the creamy brushwork, airy atmosphere and evocative Italianate setting typical of the finest French school works of the 1750s. The impressive paintings are further distinguished by their monumental size – measuring nearly 5 ½ feet high – and their storied provenance.
For much of the twentieth century, these paintings decorated the drawing room of Casa Encantada, an opulent 60-room mansion in Bel Air designed in 1939 by T. J. Robsjohn-Gibbings. The home was such a spectacle that Architectural Digest dedicated a full issue to the mansion in 1941, which included photos of these two paintings hanging in the drawing rooms. When legendary hotel magnate Conrad Hilton acquired the property in 1950, he also acquired all of the opulent furnishings and fine art that had been carefully curated and designed for the home. Hilton described the property as “one of the fabulous houses of the world,” and the home was certainly elevated by the monumental 18th-century French paintings flanking the drawing room. The paintings thus remained in the possession of Conrad Hilton's son, Mr. Barron Hilton, for the next 40 years until his death in 2019.
Circa 1750
Canvases: 53 1/4" high by 39" wide
Frames: 65 7/8" high by 51" wide by 3 1/8"
Provenance:
Oskar Guhl, Zürich, 1870-1937
Galerie Fischer, Lucerne, 26 August-3 September 1938, lot 1630
Galerie Fischer and A. Seligmann
Hilda Boldt Weber, Bel Air, CA, by 1941
Conrad Nicholson Hilton, Bel Air, CA, acquired in 1949
By descent to Barron Hilton, Bel Air, CA, from whose estate acquired by the present owner
Private Collector, Laguna Nigel, CA
- Creator:French School
- Creation Year:Circa 1750
- Dimensions:Height: 65.88 in (167.34 cm)Width: 51 in (129.54 cm)Depth: 3.13 in (7.96 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:New Orleans, LA
- Reference Number:
About the Seller
5.0
Vetted Seller
These experienced sellers undergo a comprehensive evaluation by our team of in-house experts.
Established in 1912
1stDibs seller since 2013
14 sales on 1stDibs
Typical response time: 3 hours
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: New Orleans, LA
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
More From This SellerView All
- L'odalisque à l'éventail (The Odalisque with the Fan)By Léon François ComerreLocated in New Orleans, LALéon François Comerre 1850-1916 French L'odalisque à l'éventail (The Odalisque with the Fan) Signed "Léon Comerre" (upper left) Oil on canvas Combinin...Category
Late 19th Century Academic Portrait Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- Italian Panel with Satyr and NymphsLocated in New Orleans, LAThis extraordinary Italian gouache and oil on canvas brings two of the most popular characters from Greek mythology vividly the life - the nymph and the satyr. Both creatures are famed for their carefree natures and lascivious temperaments, and tales abound of satyrs pursing nubile nymphs in order to rape or seduce them, usually with little success. One such narrative humorously unfolds in the present piece, which depicts an indignant satyr captured by three nymphs with a golden net. The relationship between these two mythological creatures was a popular one for artists throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, though its origins stretch back to antiquity. Both satyrs and nymphs...Category
Early 19th Century Other Art Style Figurative Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil, Gouache
- Egg Tapping On Easter Sunday By Hubert RitzenhofenLocated in New Orleans, LAHubert Ritzenhofen 1879-1961 German Egg Tapping on Easter Sunday Signed and dated "H. Ritzenhofen 05" (lower right) Oil on canvas This grand domestic tableau was painted by estee...Category
20th Century Figurative Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- Petite Mendiante By William-Adolphe BouguereauLocated in New Orleans, LAWilliam Bouguereau French 1825-1905 Petite Mendiante (Little Beggar) Signed “W. Bouguereau 1880” (center left) Oil on canvas William Bouguereau's faithful images of young women a...Category
19th Century Academic Figurative Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- Return Of Columbus In Chains To Cadiz By Emanuel LeutzeLocated in New Orleans, LAEmanuel Leutze 1816-1868 American Return of Columbus in Chains to Cadiz Signed E. Leutze / Philadelphia (lower right) Oil on canvas Painted by the artist in 1842, this masterpiec...Category
19th Century Academic Figurative Paintings
MaterialsOil, Canvas
- The Tent By Charles Walter SimpsonBy Charles Walter SimpsonLocated in New Orleans, LACharles Walter Simpson, RBA, RI, ROI 1885-1971 British The Tent Signed "Charles Simpson" (lower right) Oil on canvas The sunny warmth of a leisurely day on the beach radiates fro...Category
20th Century Realist Figurative Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
You May Also Like
- French 19th Century Oil on Canvas Blue and White Music Allegory Cherub PaintingLocated in Firenze, ITThis romantic French 19th century allegoric oil painting on square canvas has a sky blue background, a fluffy cloud fills the central part of the painting where a woman is lying down playing the lyre, while a graceful cherub seems to twirl over her. This oil on canvas painting represents the allegory of music - with a woman dressed in classical clothes and a putto- a very popular theme during all the neoclassical age, with its lively scene inspired by the Rococo period. The composition creates a awesome trompe-l'œil effect thanks to the color palette scheme. Well painted white and gray shadings (chiaro scuro) that stands out from the light blue background in typical grisaille style. This painting originally was an over door frieze...Category
19th Century Rococo Figurative Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- Giovanni Battista Pittoni, Holy Family with Cupids, Venetian Baroque, ChristmasBy Giovanni Battista PittoniLocated in Greven, DEIn 2001 the German art historian Art historian and Raphael Expert, Prof. Jürg Meyer zur Capellen, published the painting "Die Heilige Familie" in a monographic article, ascribing the present work to the Venetian painter Giovanni Battista Pittoni (1687 -Venice - 1767). (Newspaper "Weltkunst", October 2001, No 12, p. 1850 f. ill.) He describes it as a typical work by this artist. Pittoni was one of the most influential and successful artists of the Venetian Settecento. He was a pupil of the Veronese Master Giovanni Balestra (1666-1740). His style is influenced by Sebastiano Ricci (1659-1734) and Giambattista Tiepolo (1696-1770). Giovanni Battista Pittoni was already successful at a young age and soon lead his own workshop. He created large-scale hitoria paintings, as well as large, religious altarpieces. In addition to Venetian and Upper Italian patrons, Pittoni also had many interested parties from Europe. His work is accordingly scattered in many different museums and private collections today. Pittoni - like other painter colleagues of his time - repeated his own compositions both by hand and with the help of his workshop. He repeatedly incorporated details into other pictures and contexts. Prof. Meyer zur Capellen noted the very good condition of the present work and the high quality of the paint with fine graduations and the vivid brushstrokes. Provenance: The panting has not been on the art market for at least 300 years. In the year 2000 the work was donated by the Münster-based, Noble Family Ketteler zu Harkotten to a private collection in Westphalia. Most probably the canon Nikolaus Hermann von Ketteler zu Harkotten bought the piece in Venice in 1750 together with the altarpiece of the Clemens Church in Münster. On the reverse of the work is a fideicommissum number by Ketteler zu Harkotten. As it belonged to the family commission, the painting was inalienable until 1919, when the corresponding law was repealed, and after that time it remained in the family's possession without interruption. Pittoni's only direct relationship to Münster is the commission for the high altar painting of the Baroque St. Clemens Church. It can be assumed that then canon von Ketteler saw this painting in the artist's workshop during his stay in Venice and acquired it for himself. This would also explain the discrepancy in dating. (ca. 1735/1750). However, it is also possible that the painting originated in the possession of Ferdinand von Plettenberg...Category
Early 18th Century Rococo Figurative Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- French School, Portrait of a Young Lady, Actress, Louis XIV sculpted frame, 1700Located in Greven, DEFrench School, Portrait of a Young Lady, perhaps an actress Oval Louis XIV sculpted and gilded frame French Art, Roccoco Art The oval portrait of a young woman measures 61 by 50,5 cm canvas sight size and its 18th century oak carved and gilded frame...Category
18th Century Rococo Portrait Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- Portrait Johann Theodor Bavaria, Son of Prince Elector, by Joseph Vivien, RococoBy Joseph VivienLocated in Greven, DEPortrait of Johann Theodor of Bavaria (1703-1763) by Joseph Vivien Johann Theodor of Bavaria (* September 3, 1703 in Munich; † January 27, 1763 in Lièg...Category
18th Century Rococo Portrait Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- Circle of Jean Honore Fragonard (1732–1806) A Painting of Three Putti and FireBy Jean-Honoré FragonardLocated in New York, NYCircle of Jean Honore Fragonard (French 1732–1806) An Exceptional Painting of Three Putti and Fire, circa 1795. Masterfully painted in the late ...Category
18th Century Rococo Portrait Paintings
MaterialsOil, Cotton Canvas
- C. 1900 FRENCH BELLE EPOQUE HUGE OIL PAINTING - ELEGANT LADIES BOATING ON LAKELocated in Cirencester, Gloucestershire"Elegants on the Lake" French School, circa 1900 oil painting on canvas, framed painting: 89cm x 98cm framed: 101cm x 111cm Wonderfully decorative large French oil painting from th...Category
Early 20th Century Rococo Portrait Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil