18th Century Art
The 18th century, also known as the Age of Enlightenment, saw the flourishing of Rococo elegance and the emergence of Neoclassicism. This period celebrated reason, refinement, and classical ideals while producing ornate decorative arts and grand historical paintings.
Historical Context
The Enlightenment emphasized reason, science, and classical learning. The century witnessed the French Revolution, the rise of the middle class, and growing interest in archaeology. These factors shaped artistic tastes from Rococo frivolity to Neoclassical severity.
Key Characteristics
- Rococo elegance and ornamental sophistication
- Neoclassical revival of Greco-Roman ideals
- Emphasis on reason, order, and moral virtue
- Development of portrait painting and genre scenes
- Grand historical and mythological subjects
Notable Artists
Related Art Movements
Explore 18th Century Artworks
10,000 artworks from 1700-1799 available in our collection
Elizabeth Farren (born about 1759, died 1829), Later Countess of Derby
Sir Thomas Lawrence
1790
Comtesse de la Châtre (Marie Charlotte Louise Perrette Aglaé Bontemps, 1762–1848)
Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun
1789
Antoine Laurent Lavoisier (1743–1794) and Marie Anne Lavoisier (Marie Anne Pierrette Paulze, 1758–1836)
Jacques Louis David
1788
Condesa de Altamira and Her Daughter, María Agustina
Goya (Francisco de Goya y Lucientes)
1787–88
Cottage Children (The Wood Gatherers)
Thomas Gainsborough
1787
Virgil's Tomb by Moonlight, with Silius Italicus Declaiming
Joseph Wright (Wright of Derby)
1779
The Afternoon Meal (La Merienda)
Luis Meléndez
ca. 1772
Marie Emilie Coignet de Courson (1716–1806) with a Dog
Jean Honoré Fragonard
ca. 1769
Broken Eggs
Jean-Baptiste Greuze
1756
Allegory of the Planets and Continents
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo
1752
The Toilette of Venus
François Boucher
1751
The Death of Socrates
Jacques Louis David
1787
Manuel Osorio Manrique de Zuñiga (1784–1792)
Goya (Francisco de Goya y Lucientes)
1787–88
Self-Portrait with Two Pupils, Marie Gabrielle Capet (1761–1818) and Marie Marguerite Carreaux de Rosemond (died 1788)
Adélaïde Labille-Guiard
1785
Captain George K. H. Coussmaker (1759–1801)
Sir Joshua Reynolds
1782
Portrait of Monsieur Aublet
Guillaume Voiriot
ca. 1782
Soap Bubbles
Jean Siméon Chardin
ca. 1733–34
Piazza San Marco
Canaletto (Giovanni Antonio Canal)
late 1720s
Mezzetin
Antoine Watteau
ca. 1718–20
George Washington
Gilbert Stuart
begun 1795
Matilda Stoughton de Jaudenes
Gilbert Stuart
1794
The Sortie Made by the Garrison of Gibraltar
John Trumbull
1789
Study For Liberty Displaying the Arts and Sciences, or The Genius of America Encouraging the Emancipation of the Blacks
Samuel Jennings
ca. 1791–92
Mrs. John Winthrop
John Singleton Copley
1773
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800 BCE - 476 CE
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