Around 1720 -1790 · Rank, grace and self-invention

The rococo portrait transforms identity into staging: fabric, gesture, landscape and mythological role express rank while seeking naturalness, charm and presence.

The 18th century portrait responds to a society where the image circulates between courtyard, living room, family and public space. In France, Nattier disguises princesses as Flore or Diane, uniting dynastic resemblance and mythological poetry. Boucher envelops Madame de Pompadour with books, fabrics and objects which signal taste as much as cultural power. Vigée Le Brun, at the end of the century, softened the court portrait with a smile, gauze and carefully constructed proximity. In Great Britain, Reynolds wanted to elevate his models through smiles, gauze and carefully constructed proximity. In Great Britain, Reynolds wanted to elevate his models through the Great Manner: antique pose, column, drape and light gave them historical dignity. Gainsborough often preferred a more fluid touch, elegant silhouettes and a sensitive dialogue with the landscape. In Chardin and Fragonard, the child at play or the young woman absorbed in reading shifts interest towards inner attention. The rococo portrait never renounces social representation; it makes it more mobile. The model can be wife, admiral, muse, mother, child, reader or divinity, and each role negotiates public appearance and private feeling. The "Rococo Portraits" selection notably compares Mr and Mrs Andrews and Madame Henriette en Flore - Jean-Marc Nattier. His reading favors the story.

In the Rococo portrait, being similar is not enough: you still have to appear natural in the middle of a world of fabrics, signs and skillfully composed roles.