* Nicolas Lancret Paris 1690 - 1743

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Description

Nicolas Lancret
Jeu de Billard en Galante Compagnie
oil on canvas

Provenance

With Wildenstein & Co., Ltd., London;
From whom purchased by the present collector in 1990.

Exhibited

London, Wildenstein, La Douceur de vivre: Art, Style and Decoration in XVIIIth Century France, June 1-July 29, 1983, p. 61, reproduced p.27.

Catalogue Note

In a vaulted hall two elegant couples play billiards. A mother and her young daughter are depicted in the foreground and a couple sit on a sofa beneath a classical sculpture beyond. A sunlit garden is seen through the doorway.

The delicate figures in the work are typical of Lancret's later style. They are painted with short, sketchy brushstrokes and are rich in color. It is possible that the architecture was painted by another hand, perhaps by an artist that had knowledge of designing theatrical sets.

The game of billiards was very popular with the nobility in France. Louis XIII and Louis XIV were both enthusiastic players and it was said that Marie-Antoinette spent the eve of the French Revolution playing billiards with members of the court.