Enfilade

Maurice Quentin de La Tour, Portrait of Gabriel Bernard de Rieux (detail), 1739–41, pastel and opaque watercolor on blue paper, laid down on canvas, unframed: 200 × 150 cm (Los Angeles: Getty Museum, 94.PC.39).

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Now on view at The Getty:

Untold Stories of a Monumental Pastel
Getty Center, Los Angeles, 3 October 2023 — 20 October 2024

One of the largest pastels made in the 18th century, Maurice Quentin de La Tour’s Portrait of Gabriel Bernard de Rieux is an astonishing object. In this colossal portrait, the ambitious La Tour (1704–1788) pushed pastel to new heights, capturing his sitter’s likeness and surrounding de Rieux with the trappings of his wealth: fine furniture, an extensive library, imported porcelain, and a globe turned to display the West coast of Africa. This focused exhibition highlights both La Tour’s technical achievement and the global reality that financed and furnished de Rieux’s world.