nineteenth century

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Behind Closed Doors: How Royalty Lived in Nineteenth-Century Paris
This Object of the Day  celebrates one of many treasured objects given by Clare and Eugene V. Thaw to Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.  It is republished here in memory of Eugene V. Thaw. Click on this link to read more about the Thaws and their gifts to Cooper Hewitt.    The fashion for commissioning watercolors after...
Severe but Stylish
French style during the early 19th century is characterized by a strong emphasis on Greek and Roman imagery from antiquity. In many ways, it is a continuation of the Neoclassicism of the late 18th century. After the French Revolution of 1789, the new government encouraged the use of Neoclassical imagery in order to create a...
Bottomless Punch
This raucous drawing was made by English printmaker (Isaac) Robert Cruikshank in 1836.  Cruikshank’s dense scene includes genteel figures seated around an enormous, decorated cake while others, emboldened by inebriation, climb a rafter at the left.  Two oversized and garish figures both literally and figuratively steal the cake; however: the male figure holds a full...