00:00
/
00:00
Bélanger, François-Joseph
Design for a Wall, the Main Black-ground Panel Centred by a Female Figure below a Pediment Flanked by Terms and a Pair of Torchères Conception de peinture murale, panneau principal à fond noir centré par une figure féminine sous un fronton flanqué de thermes et de deux torchères
around 1786–1788 v. 1786

François-Joseph Bélanger was a French architect and landscape designer. He had a distinguished career as a royal architect at the courts of Louis XV and Louis XVI. Although his fame rests on his accomplishments as a landscape architect, his mercurial talents are perhaps best characterized in his drawings for interior decoration and court festivals. Between 1786 and 1788, Bélanger built three houses on the Rue St Georges for his future wife, Mlle Delvieux, and a hôtel for the financier M. Wegmerange. It is likely during that timeframe that he made the current drawing. Bélanger’s wall panel contains an array of decorative details. Several figures adorn the composition, including mythical creatures and humans, and the hybrid columns with the heads of females, reminiscent of Greek caryatids, add a playful element to the design. The use of watercolour lends the drawing elegance and articulates the central panel. This work exemplifies Bélanger’s talent as a decorator specializing in stage scenery for ornate festivities.

Bélanger, François-Joseph
Paris, France 1744-Paris, France 1818 Paris, France 1744-Paris, France 1818
Design for a Wall, the Main Black-ground Panel Centred by a Female Figure below a Pediment Flanked by Terms and a Pair of Torchères Conception de peinture murale, panneau principal à fond noir centré par une figure féminine sous un fronton flanqué de thermes et de deux torchères
around 1786–1788 v. 1786
Pen and black and red ink, grey wash and watercolour over traces of graphite on paper Plume, encre noire et rouge, lavis gris et aquarelle sur traces de graphite sur papier
33.4 x 22.5 cm
Bequest of David McTavish, 2019 Legs de David McTavish, 2019
62-023.01

Subscribe to our “This Week at Agnes” e-newsletter to stay abreast of events, news and opportunities at the art museum.