François Boucher, Fountain of Venus
Fawick Memorial Collection, 1979.55 · The Cleveland Museum of Art, Open Access (CC0)View original →
François Boucher

Fountain of Venus

1756

Current Collection

Cleveland Museum of Art

Cleveland, United States

Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
233 × 215 cm
Status
In Museum Collection
Collect24 Art ID
C24-110493

Lighthearted, erotic decorative schemes remained popular among the French aristocracy throughout the 1700s. In this painting, part of the playfulness comes from the way Boucher painted some of the figures in gray, as if made of stone, while the others are fully human. The artist toyed with the boundaries of painting and sculpture, as well as fiction and reality.The original purpose of this painting remains unclear. While it may have been exhibited as an independent work of art, it probably served initially as a preliminary design for a tapestry.

Provenance

Fawick Memorial Collection, 1979.55

Registry history

  • 1756 — Recorded in the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art

Registered on Collect24

The identity of the collector is never published. Purchase information, documents and the exact location of the artwork remain private.

Ownership not yet verified on Collect24

This artwork is documented in the Global Art Registry, but no Collect24 account is linked to it as the owner. Claiming keeps this record and its Collect24 Art ID — nothing is created a second time.

Do you own or represent this artwork? Claim this artwork →

Auction history

Public sale records matched to this work. Ownership is never disclosed.

Loading sale records…