After Carle Van Loo: Allegory Of Music For Madame De Pompadour, 18th Century.

Exceptional painting from the 18th century, follower of Carle Van Loo after one of the works of the company salon of the Château de Bellevue.
The original work was very successful, and under Madame de Pompadour it was reproduced on snuff boxes, fans, engravings, etc ...
Charles André Vanloo, known as Carle Van loo, is a specialist in the allegorical genre, very popular in the 18th century. The originality of this allegory of music lies in the choice and treatment of the characters represented as children. The painting is part of a set of three other compositions: Allegory of Painting, Allegory of Sculpture, Allegory of Architecture, painted for the Château de Bellevue. now housed in San Francisco, The Fine Arts Museums.
For musicians: the musical score of the painting is a pleasant rhyme. It's your turn !
1753: Extract from the Logbook of the Marquise de Pompadour (1721-1764):
'' Carle van Loo benefits more and more from my favors. He made a series of four door tops for the Games Cabinet on the ground floor of the Château de Bellevue. These paintings illustrate the Fine Arts: painting, sculpture, architecture and music. This kind of allegorical representation is nothing new in itself, but I find that Van Loo renews the genre by using childish figures, a theme that I particularly like''.
Charles-André Vanloo, dit Carle (Nice, February 15, 1705 - Paris, July 15, 1765) belongs to a family of artists of Dutch origin who settled in France in the 17th century. Van Loo was one of the most acclaimed painters of the reign of Louis XV, appointed First Painter to the King in 1762, enjoying the favors of Madame de Pompadour, for whom he designed in 1753 a series of four door tops. Intended for the Château de la Marquise in Bellevue, these works illustrated the Fine Arts: painting, sculpture, architecture and music. This type of allegorical representation was not in itself very new, but Van Loo renewed the genre by using childlike figures. This novelty was hailed by the critics, and instantly imitated by other painters, foremost among which is of course Boucher. Many copies were made, and the engraved version, published in 1756, helped disseminate the work. So much so that today, it is difficult to know which are the originals, especially since the castle of Bellevue was destroyed during the Revolution. It seems that the Legion of Honor Museum in San Francisco holds the original series. Van Loo was not satisfied with innovating by depicting children in these allegories, he also introduced in each painting an element directly related to his patron: the bust on which the young sculptor works is that of Louis XV, the model who poses for the little painter is the daughter of Madame de Pompadour, Alexandrine, born of her marriage to Charles-Guillaume Le Normant d'Etiolles, the plans that the architect holds in his hand are those of the Château de Bellevue. As for the harpsichordist, she is supposed to have the features of Madame de Pompadour herself, however rejuvenated by more than twenty years.
Oil on 18th century canvas with old relining and recent cleaning:
70 x 87 cm
Gilt wood frame from the early 19th century restored:
75 x 93.5 cm