18th Century Paintings

Many of you may or may not know that I love history. I think it is absolutely fascinating...Yep, I'm a history geek :)) I bet you didn't see that coming, did you? Basically everything history related attracts me, whether it's a book, a film, a TV show, a documentary, you name it.

My favourite historical period, besides antiquity, is the 18th century and the historical figures whom I admire the most are Henry VIII, Elisabeth I, Louis the XIV and Marie Antoinette. I actually have a little obsession with Marie Antoinette and 18th century France. I believe she was a fascinating character who was and still is misinterpreted and misunderstood. As for France, there never was a people more sophisticated and elegant than the French. For me, both England and France have the most fascinating histories and I most enjoy  reading about these two great nations. If you are interested, you can check Madame Guillotine's beautiful blog, which is amazing and has the most interesting posts about Marie Antoinette and about different historical events and personalities.

Soooo, today, as the title of the post suggests, I want to show you some of my favourite 18th century paintings. What's with these type of posts you might ask? Well, on the one hand I just wanted to write about something different and on the other hand I thought I could share with you my passion for art and history.

I'm going to start with my favourite painting, which is one of the most beautiful portrayals of the queen Marie Antoinette.

Marie Antoinette with the Rose by Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun (1783)

Georgiana, the Duchess of Devonshire painted by Thomas Gainsborough

The Swing painted by Jean-Honoré Fragonard in 1767

Love Letter painted by Jean-Honoré Fragonard (1770)

Both paintings depict Madame de Pompadour painted by François Boucher

Carl Herpfer, The Love Missive

Self-Portrait with a Harp, Rose-Adélaïde Ducreux (1790)

And last but not least, since tomorrow is Valentine's Day, here is one of the most romantic paintings in my opinion:



Romeo and Juliet by Frank Bernard Dicksee (1884)

That's it for today. I hope you've enjoyed this selection of my favourite paintings from the 18th century. Be sure to check my next post because you will no doubt love it!