Ornamental Vase Design
Classification
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Purchased for the Museum by the Advisory Council
Accession Number
1921-6-477-4
About this artwork
Research in Progress
Art Historical Context
Joseph Marie Vien's *Ornamental Vase Design* (1760) is a delicate print that captures the elegance of mid-18th-century French decorative arts. Vien (1716–1809), a prominent French painter and director of the French Academy in Rome, bridged the ornate Rococo style of Louis XV's court with the emerging Neoclassicism. This work, now in the Smithsonian American Art Museum's collection—purchased by the Advisory Council—showcases his skill in crafting refined ornamental motifs, likely intended for luxury objects like vases in porcelain or silver. Printed during a golden age of French design, when m...