365 Days at the Met

 April 4, 2025 Gallery 632 is, on first glance, another odd assemblage of 18th century French paintings of various genres: history paintings, paintings with religious subjects (including one entitled "The Triumph of Mordecai [sic]," which makes me question whether the story of Esther was well known, and if so why), still lifes, animal pictures, and portraits. What theme could possibly unify this gallery, I wondered? But actually, the introductory placard succeeds in doing this and proved interesting and instructive. Headlined "Hierarchy, Gender, and the French Academy," it noted that while painters of historical and religious scenes still ranked highest in the judgment of the Academie,  consumer tastes were shifting to portraits, scenes of daily life, still lifes, and paintings of animals. Women painters were largely relegated to these "lesser" genres, and until the fall of the French monarchy, only four women were allowed into the Academie at any one time...

  March 31, 2025 I think it must be quite hard to write the introductory signage for these 18th century French galleries, which contain lots of portraits, some paintings on set themes (a woman reads a love letter, e.g.), some outdoor scenes, and so on. The curator(s) seems to have taken the approach of describing culture in general and its relationship to art in particular.  Gallery 631's sign bears the headline "Urban Luxuries," noting that arts patrons were leaving the royal court at Versailles for well-appointed Parisian townhouses. Presumably the two portraits that are the subjects of today's entry graced these residences. I selected Jean Honore' Fragonard's portrait of Marie Emilie Coignet de Courson, an aristocratic salon hostess, with her dog because I find it utterly charming.  In the painting (which measures, I would guess, 38 inches high and 32 inches wide), Mme. and the little dog she holds are basically shown is profile from below the waist up, but...