Artwork
The Love Letter
The Love Letter is an oil painting by the Rococo painting artist François Boucher. It dates from 1750 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
- Inscription
- Inscribed:upper right on lintel beneath lion: f. Boucher / 1750
About this work
Subject & Meaning
This combination of a romantic missive with rustic figures exemplifies the Rococo taste for idealized rural love and playful sensuality.
The painting depicts a woman reading a love letter in a pastoral landscape, accompanied by a shepherd and sheep. This combination of a romantic missive with rustic figures exemplifies the Rococo taste for idealized rural love and playful sensuality. Created for Madame de Pompadour, the work likely reflects her fondness for pastoral fantasies and the theme of courtly amorous intrigue.
The love letter serves as the focal narrative device, symbolizing secret affection or correspondence within an idyllic setting.
Technique & Style
François Boucher's The Love Letter (1750) is executed in oil on canvas, a medium typical of his mature work. The painting, measuring 81.2 x 75.2 cm, exemplifies the Rococo movement through its pastoral genre scene. The composition features a woman, a shepherd, and sheep, rendered with the soft, decorative handling characteristic of Boucher's style. No specific condition or handling details are recorded in the available sources.
History & Provenance
Painted in 1750 for Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, marquise de Pompadour, the work was originally installed in the chambre doré on the second floor of the Château de Bellevue. It was removed around 1757 and by 1764 was recorded in the vestibule of the Hôtel d'Evreux, Pompadour's Paris residence. Upon her death, it passed to her brother Abel-François Poisson, marquis de Ménars et de Marigny, and was sold from his estate in 1782.
The painting later appeared in sales in 1842 and 1861 before entering the collection of Emile and Isaac Pereire. Sold in 1872, it was purchased on behalf of Frédéric-Alexis-Louis Pillet-Will, comte Pillet. Acquired by Wildenstein & Co., it was sold to William R. Timken by 1932, inherited by his widow Lillian Guyer Timken, and bequeathed to the National Gallery of Art in 1960.
The Love Letter is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. (accession number not specified in sources). It entered the museum in 1960 as a bequest from Lillian Guyer Timken, who inherited it from her husband William R. Timken. Before the Timken ownership, the painting passed through several notable collections, including that of the marquise de Pompadour, her brother Abel-François Poisson de Ménars, and the Pereire brothers, among others. No exhibition history is provided in the sources.
Overview
Titled "The Love Letter," this oil on canvas painting presents a scene of quiet intimacy. It portrays a woman deeply absorbed in reading a letter, situated within a peaceful outdoor setting. A shepherd and his sheep are visible nearby, contributing to the tranquil, pastoral atmosphere. The artwork is notable for its gentle color scheme and the calm mood it evokes.
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Artist & collection
Artist
François Boucher was a French painter, draughtsman and etcher, who worked in the Rococo style.
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