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The Moscow Tavern

Jean-Baptiste Le Prince

1773

From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art

Romanticism 18th Century

Dominant colour

The Moscow Tavern is a 1773 by Jean-Baptiste Le Prince, a Romanticism work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.

Who painted this?: Jean-Baptiste Le Prince
When & what style?: 1773 · Romanticism
Where can I see it?: Cleveland Museum of Art

About this work

Le Prince painted a crowded tavern scene in Moscow. Wooden tables and benches fill the room. Men in fur hats drink and talk while a woman serves them. Unusual for his time, he actually visited Russia and painted what he saw. Most artists made up exotic scenes without leaving France. His details feel real and lived-in. Look at the man in the striped coat. He holds a pipe. If you like his style, check out Jean Baptiste Le Prince’s other works.

The story of this work

Overview

French art during the 1700s often reflects an interest in the exotic, especially in imagery of lands then perceived as far away and unusual-such as Turkey and China, places with religions and cultural practices different from those of Western Europe. Le Prince developed his own type of exotic imagery based on the peoples and customs of Russia. But unlike most artists, who fabricated fantastic visions of such places, he based his work on his own observations made in Russia between 1758 and 1763. After returning to Paris, Le Prince continued to rely on his Russian experiences for artistic…

Read the full account in the museum source.