At the beginning of the eighteenth century, a generation of collectors in France and the Holy Roman Empire developed new principles for the display of paintings, principles based on comparison triggered by the mixture of schools and periods; its aim was to encourage analysis and connoisseurship through comparison and conversation. The ground-breaking theories of Roger de Piles were central to this novel approach, and essential to its understanding. These principles were predominant until the 1780s. This book examines case studies in France, the German Empire and the UK that exemplify these new principles.
Arvustused
A "stimulating book"
Peter Humfrey, University of St Andrews (Em.). In: The Burlington Magazine, Vol. 168 (April 2026), pp. 413414.
AcknowledgementsIX
List of Figures
Introduction
1Social Spaces: Displaying and Discussing Paintings in Eighteenth-Century
European Collections
2A New Theoretical Framework
3The Vanishing Role of Iconography
4Setting the Stage: Vienna and Versailles at the Beginning of the
Eighteenth Century
Part 1: Pioneers of the New Principles
Introduction to Part 1
1 Lothar Franz Graf Schönborn at Pommersfelden, Schloss Weißenstein
2 Eugen Prince of Savoy at Vienna, Upper Belvedere
3 Philippe II, Duc dOrléans at Paris, Palais Royal
4 Pierre Crozat at Paris, rue de Richelieu
Part 2: New Approaches by Private Collectors
Introduction to Part 2
5 Jeanne-Baptiste dAlbert, Comtesse de Verrue at Paris, rue du Cherche-Midi
6 Jean de Jullienne at Paris, rue des Gobelins
7 François Berger at Paris, rue Saint-Marc
8 Etienne-François, Duc de Choiseul at Paris, rue de Richelieu
Part 3: Rulers and Institutions
Introduction to Part 3
9 Elector Friedrich August II of Saxony / August III King of Poland at
Dresden, Stallhof
10 The Electors Palatine at Düsseldorf, Schloss, and at Mannheim, Schloss
11 The French Royal Collection at Paris, Palais du Luxembourg
12 The Académie Royal de Peinture et de Sculpture at the Salon, Paris, Palais
du Louvre
13 Abel-François Poisson de Vandières, Marquis de Marigny et de Menars at
Paris, rue Saint-Thomas-du-Louvre
14 Friedrich II King of Prussia at Potsdam, Schloss Sanssouci and
Bildergalerie
Part 4: The British Contribution
Introduction to Part 4
15 Sir Robert Walpole at Houghton Hall
16 Thomas Coke, Earl of Leicester at Holkham Hall
17 John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute at Luton Hoo
Part 5: On the Verge of the Museum Age
Introduction to Part 5
18 The Imperial Collection at Vienna, Upper Belvedere
Conclusion: Principles of Eighteenth-Century Paintings Displays
Bibliography
Mary Tavener Holmes, Ph.D., is an independent scholar with a specialty in the art of the eighteenth century. Her publications include De Watteau à Fragonard: Les fêtes galantes (with Christoph Vogtherr, 2014) and Nicolas Lancrets Dance before a Fountain (2006).
Christoph Martin Vogtherr is General Director of the Prussian Palaces and Gardens Foundation, Potsdam. Prior to that, he was director at the Hamburger Kunsthalle and the Wallace Collection. He is a specialist of French eighteenth-century art and the history of art collecting.
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