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Source Description
Gabriel de Saint-Aubin was known for his rapidly executed, sketchy style, often used to depict performances and social scenes. The exaggerated lifted legs of the dancers seen here imply a comic, theatrical style; no social dance during the 18th century would have permitted such pronounced gestures, especially for a woman. Both dancers wear jackets with irregular hemlines decorated with round bells similar to those found on jesters’ costumes. The lanterns and swags of flowers strung from trees and the small orchestra playing on the right suggest a guinguette, or outdoor tavern with a pleasure garden.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
142292
label
Costumed Dancers Performing in a Garden Tavern
core
obj
dtoType
drawing
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
142292
contentType
drawing
title
Costumed Dancers Performing in a Garden Tavern
description
Gabriel de Saint-Aubin was known for his rapidly executed, sketchy style, often used to depict performances and social scenes. The exaggerated lifted legs of the dancers seen here imply a comic, theatrical style; no social dance during the 18th century would have permitted such pronounced gestures, especially for a woman. Both dancers wear jackets with irregular hemlines decorated with round bells similar to those found on jesters’ costumes. The lanterns and swags of flowers strung from trees and the small orchestra playing on the right suggest a guinguette, or outdoor tavern with a pleasure garden.
date
1756
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q80041922
creators
1960
genreSpecific
Drawing
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Sheet: 19.8 x 31.3 cm (7 13/16 x 12 5/16 in.)
cul
France, 18th century
accession
1966.124
Source extras
tec
brush and brown and gray wash, with gouache, watercolor, and traces of graphite
tombstone
Costumed Dancers Performing in a Garden Tavern, 1756. Gabriel de Saint-Aubin (French, 1724–1780). Brush and brown and gray wash, with gouache, watercolor, and traces of graphite; sheet: 19.8 x 31.3 cm (7 13/16 x 12 5/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund, 1966.124
supportMaterials
description
cream(3) laid paper, laid down on cream(1) wove paper
collection
DR - French
inscriptions
inscription
lower left, in brown ink: 17[60?]; lower left, in graphite: G de St Aubin [partially cut off]; verso, visible through transmitted light, lower left: [aif?]; lower left: Fragonard; lower right: 22 / [illegible] / 22; verso of secondary support, center, in graphite: N
didYouKnow
Gabriel de Saint-Aubin reused the female dancer in another drawing from 1760.
citations
citation
Parker, K.T. "Notes on Drawings: Gabriel de Saint-Aubin." <em>Old Master Drawings</em> 48 (March 1938): 58.
page_number
Mentioned: p. 58; Reproduced: plate 60
citation
<em>The Stage: A Loan Exhibition for the Benefit of the Public Education Association.</em> Exh. Cat. New York: Jacques Seligmann & Co., Inc., 1939.
page_number
Mentioned and reproduced: no. 7
citation
Tietze, Hans. <em>European Master Drawings in the United States</em>. New York: J.J. Augustin, 1947.
page_number
Mentioned and reproduced: no. 108
citation
<em>French Painting, 1100-1900</em>. Exh. Cat. Pittsburgh: Carnegie Institute, 1951.
page_number
Mentioned and reproduced: no. 144
citation
Cailleux, Jean. "An Unpublished Painting by Saint-Aubin: 'Le Bal champêtre." <em>Burlington Magazine</em> 102, no. 686 (May 1960): i-iv,
page_number
Mentioned: pp. iii-iv
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 139
citation
Stechow, Wolfgang. "Cleveland's Golden Anniversary Acquisitions." <em>Artnews</em> 65, no. 5 (September 1966): 30-64.
page_number
Mentioned and reproduced: p. 43
citation
"Collections et collectionneurs." <em>La Chronique des Arts, supplément à la Gazette des Beaux-Arts</em> 1173 (October 1966): 4-6.
page_number
Mentioned and reproduced: p. 5
citation
Richards, Louise S. "Gabriel de Saint-Aubin: Fête in a Park with Costumed Dancers." <em>Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 54 (September 1967): 215-218.
page_number
Mentioned and reproduced: pp. 215-218
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 139
citation
Rosenberg, Pierre. <em>French Master Drawings of the 17th & 18th Centuries in North American Collections</em>. Translated by Catherine Johnston. Exh. Cat. Toronto: Art Gallery of Ontario, 1972.
page_number
Mentioned: p. 208, no. 130; Reproduced: p. 87
citation
Carlson, Victor, Ellen D'Oench, and Richard S. Field. <em>Prints and Drawings by Gabriel De Saint-Aubin, 1724-1780</em>. Exh. Cat. Middletown, CT: Davison Art Center, 1975.
page_number
Mentioned: pp. 76-77, no. 41; Reproduced: 87
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 183
citation
McCullagh, Suzanne Folds. "The Development of Gabriel de Saint-Aubin (1724-1780) as a Draughtsman." PhD diss., Harvard University, 1981.
page_number
Mentioned: pp. 183-185; Reproduced: no. 156
citation
de Beaumont, Kim. "Reconsidering Gabriel de Saint-Aubin (1724-1780): The Background for his Scenes of Paris." PhD diss., New York University, 1998.
page_number
Mentioned: pp. 318-319, 336 n. 326; Reproduced: p. 724
citation
DeGrazia, Diane, and Carter E. Foster. <em>Master Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art</em>. Exh. Cat. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2000.
page_number
Mentioned: pp. 112-113, p. 289, no. 42; Reproduced: p. 113
citation
Bailey, Colin B., Kim de Beaumont, Suzanne Folds McCullagh, et al. <em>Gabriel de Saint-Aubin (1724-1780)</em>. Exh. Cat. New York: Frick Collection, 2007.
page_number
Mentioned and reproduced: no. 49
creditline
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
updatedAt
2026-05-29 07:17:41.552000
sourceId
142292
dept
Drawings
coll
DR - French
med
brush and brown and gray wash, with gouache, watercolor, and traces of graphite
creatorTags
male
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
b7b07d6fe5ae46ca