Artwork
Reclining Girl
Reclining Girl is an oil painting by the Rococo painting artist François Boucher. It dates from 1752 and is held in the collection of the Bavarian State Painting Collections.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
Created in 1752, François Boucher's oil painting depicts a nude young woman, identified as Marie-Louise O'Murphy, reclining on a fainting couch.
Created in 1752, François Boucher's oil painting depicts a nude young woman, identified as Marie-Louise O'Murphy, reclining on a fainting couch. The composition focuses on the figure's backside, prominently displaying the dimples of Venus on her buttocks, a specific anatomical detail often associated with beauty in Rococo art. Surrounding iconography includes cushions, drapery, a single rose, and a brasero, which collectively establish an intimate, domestic setting.
The work is classified as both a nude and a genre scene, presenting the subject in the manner of an odalisque. By combining the realistic portrayal of a specific individual with these sensual elements, the painting embodies the Rococo movement's fascination with eroticism, youthful innocence, and decorative elegance.
Technique & Style
Reclining Girl is an oil painting on canvas executed in 1752 by François Boucher. The work measures 59 cm in height and 73 cm in width and is housed in the Alte Pinakothek, Munich, as part of the Bavarian State Painting Collections. It belongs to the Rococo movement and is classified as a nude genre scene, depicting a reclining woman on a fainting couch with cushions, drapery and a rose. The medium is oil paint applied to a canvas support.
History & Provenance
Reclining Girl is an oil-on-canvas painting by François Boucher dated to 1752. The work entered the holdings of the Bavarian State Painting Collections and is currently housed at the Alte Pinakothek in Munich, Germany. No information regarding an earlier ownership chain, commissioner, or pre-1752 creation history is documented in the available sources.
François Boucher's 1752 oil painting, Reclining Girl, is held in the collection of the Bavarian State Painting Collections. While the available records confirm its current institutional location, specific inventory or accession numbers are not provided in the source material. Furthermore, no details regarding the painting's exhibition history are documented in the provided references.
Context
François Boucher's Reclining Girl (1752) exemplifies Rococo concerns with sensuality and decorative opulence; the work is classified as a genre scene and a nude within the artist's prolific output of mythological and erotic subjects. Depicting Marie-Louise O'Murphy on a fainting couch, the composition emphasizes soft drapery, ornamental details, and a luminous palette, reflecting the period's fascination with aristocratic leisure and sensual narrative. The painting resides in the Alte Pinakothek, part of the Bavarian State Painting Collections, underscoring its institutional significance within the European art-historical canon.
Scholarship situates it as a key example of Boucher's blend of eroticism and Rococo ornamentation, informing broader narratives of 18th-century French visual culture.
Overview
This oil painting, titled Reclining Girl, presents a young woman in a state of repose upon an elaborate sofa. Draped in soft pink and white fabrics, her relaxed posture and the luxurious setting evoke an intimate atmosphere. The artist's meticulous attention to rendering textures and the subtle play of light contributes to the work's overall delicate and sensuous quality.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Artist
François Boucher was a French painter, draughtsman and etcher, who worked in the Rococo style.
