Three Arabesque Panel Designs
Classification
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Purchased for the Museum by the Advisory Council
Accession Number
1921-6-481-39
About this artwork
Research in Progress
Art Historical Context
**Three Arabesque Panel Designs Jean-Baptiste Huet (1745–1811), a leading French artist of the late Rococo era, created these enchanting *Three Arabesque Panel Designs* between1776 and 1789. Acquired by the Smithsonian American Art Museum the Advisory Council, this reflects the opulent decorative tastes of pre-Revolutionary France, where arabesques—intricate, flowing motifs of intertwined foliage, figures, and fantastical elements—adorned walls, furniture, and porcelain. Huet's signature style blended playful Rococo whimsy with emerging Neoclassical refinement, often drawing from nature's g...