La toilette de Venus
Medium
wash manner, printed in blue, red, carmine, yellow, and black inks
Dimensions
plate: 49.3 x 38.6 cm (19 7/16 x 15 3/16 in.) overall (outer framing line): 37.3 x 29.2 cm (14 11/16 x 11 1/2 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Widener Collection
Accession Number
1942.9.2382
Art Historical Context
In the opulent world of 18th-century French Roc art, *La toilette de Venus* (1783) captures a moment of divine vanity: Venus, the goddess of love, at her dressing table, surrounded by cupids and mirrors. Created by printmaker Jean-François Janinet after a painting by François Boucher—the era's master of sensual, pastel-hued mythology—this work echoes Boucher's playful elegance and celebration of beauty. Boucher's originals, favored by Madame de Pompadour, embodied the lavish frivolity of Louis XV's court, blending myth with everyday intimacy. Janinet's innovation shines in the "wash manner" t...