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Achievement: Boucher, François (Paris (75), September 20, 1703 - Paris (75), May 30, 1770) (painter)

Le Pigeonnier, also known as Le Moulin de Charenton

  • PE.73 - TO.tif

Production: 1750 - 1760
Area: Painting
Technique(s): Canvas (oil painting)
Dimensions : H. 72 cm ; W. 92 cm
Inventory no.: PE.73
Photo credit(s) : Ollivier, Thierry

Cartel

Commonly referred to as "Le Moulin de Quiquengrogne à Charenton" (Quiquengrogne's Mill in Charenton), this emblematic work from the Orléans collections takes a real place, known from old drawings, to offer an idyllic reinterpretation much appreciated by 18th-century enthusiasts. In keeping with the tastes of his century, the artist, who had been the King's principal painter since 1765, placed a gallant scene in the doorway, echoing the nuptial symbols of doves and the crown. During his lifetime, Boucher enjoyed great success with his mythological and gallant scenes, often featuring idealized female nudes. As Georges Brunel points out: "This last painting is one of those in which the movement by which Boucher's imagination began to sterilize and freeze into formulas is most apparent. It shows all the piles of objects he loved: a dirt road curves around the right foreground, leading to a plank staircase that doesn't seem too solid; a small house apparently built on the half-ruined arches of an old bridge; a little further on, a dovecote stands on stilts; a woman in front of the house draws water from the river with a bucket attached to a rope...". The work is painted in an unreal blue-green range, visually enhanced by the contrast of the red shirt of the young woman elegantly drawing water. The painter used the same contrasting technique in his painting "Les Lavandières" (1768, New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art).

Provenance

Purchased by Dubezin from the Paris auction house, 1848.
Dubezin Collection and descendants.
Purchased by the Musée des Beaux-Arts d'Orléans from Dubezin, 1902.

School

France

Location

Museum of Fine Arts

1st floor

Room: Courtly art under Louis XV and Pompadour L'Orléans des lumières

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