ng themselves chatting in the shade of the gossamery foliage; the casually graceful postures of the young ladies and their admirers convey subtle, almost imperceptible shades of emotion. Exquisite colouring and delicate execution distinguish one of the artist's masterpieces, a small painting A Capricious Woman , in which the spectator encounters the same world of superficial feelings.
The exhibition in room 285 and 286 presents examples of Rococo court art whose only raison d'etre , according to the art remark of a contemporary, was to please. Venuses, cupids, shepherd boys and shepherd girls are the central figures of the many works of Francois Boucher (1703-1770), a court painter of Louis XV. Boucher's Pastoral Scene , The Triumph of Venus and The Toilet of Venus , confined in their colours to attractive pinks and blues, are very typical of Rococo art, of which he was a distinguished exponent. br/>
In room 285 particular mention should be made of the work of Etienne-Maurice Falconet (1716-1791), who executed the equestrian statue of Peter the Great ("Bronze Horseman") in St Petersburg. His Cupid, Flora and Winter , in which elegance is combined with the true-to-life quality of the figures, are evidence of the sculptor's faithful adherence to realist traditions. In a large cabinet by the window, among some Sevres porcelains, are the unglazed white porcelain (biscuit) statuettes Cupid, Psyche and Woman Bathing , made from models of Falconet.
Room 286 contains a number of portraits by Jean-Marc Nattier and Louis Tocque, painters who at one time enjoyed considerable popularity. Falconet's Winter is distinguished from his earlier works its greater severity of style; this is related to the growing influence of Classicism in French art during the last thirty years of the eighteenth century. br/>
Room 287 . Jean-Baptiste Simeon Chardin (1699-1779) was a leading representative of the realist movement. His Washerwoman and Grace before Meat (1744) take the onlooker into the sphere of activities and everyday problems and chores of a poor French family. Chardin was an outstanding painter of still life, which was unknown to French aristocratic art as an independent genre. The appeal of the Still Life with the Attributes of the Arts , lies in the austere conception of the composition and the subtle, skilful use of colour.
The center of the room is occupied by the marble statue of the great man of the Enlightenment, Voltaire (1781), created by the sculptor Jean-Antoine Houdon (1741-1828). The eighty-four-year-old Voltaire sat for him in 1778, but the May of that year the great man was dead. With ruthless veracity the hand of the sculptor portrayed the aged, weak body, the hands disfigured by sickness, the crooked spine and toothless mouth. But upon the face of Voltaire, with its high brow, ironic smile and the poignant look of the sharp eyes, is the seal of an immortal intellect and undying energy. The philosopher, seated in an armchair, is dressed in a garment which reminds us of the ancient toga, and upon his head he wears an ancient fillet. p> Also of interest are the portrait busts of Diderot and Falconet carved in marble by Marie-Anne Collot (1748-1821). Collot came with her teacher Falconet to Russia, where he took part in the work on the equestrian statue of Peter the Great. It wsa from her model that the head of Peter was made. br/>
Room 288 . The painting Paralytic Helped by His Children , one of the most famous canvases by Jean-Baptiste Greuze (1725-1805), was considered to be an affirmation of bourgeois virtue and a protest against the depravity of the aristocracy and the frivolity of Rococo art. Another example of this type of moralizing scene is his painting Widow Visiting the Cure . Greuze's artistic merit is seen fully in such works as The Spoilt Child, Girl with a Doll and Young Man in a Hat.
Three paintings - The Stolen Kiss, The Farmer's Children and The Lost Forfeit, or the Captured Kiss - illustrate the work of the fine painter of the second half of the eighteenth century Jean-Honore Fragonard (1732-1806). These are also some paintings by the famous landscape painter Claude Joseph Vernet (1714-1789).
Room 289 . In the White Room (designed by Briullov, 1838) there are paintings, sculptures and items of applied art from the last thirty years of the eighteenth century. During these years Hubert Robert (1733-1808) enjoyed great popularity; ancient ruins were the favourite theme of his decorative landscapes. p> French Art: 18 th -20 th centuries.
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French painting of the 19th to early 20th century is represented by approximately 850 items....
