Lady Reading the Letters of Heloise and Abelard

http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/artwork/133859


Lady Reading the Letters of Heloise and Abelard, c. 1780

Auguste Bernard d'Agesci
French, 1756–1829
Oil on canvas
Art Institute of Chicago

My original postcard lists the artist as Jean Baptise Geruze (1725-1805) and giving the date of the painting as 1759/60. Scholars must have made further discoveries on the provenance of this piece since the copyright date of 1996.

The young lady leans back in a swoon while reading the letters of Abelard and Heloise, a tale of love and heartache from medieval times. Scholars say that the other book on the side table is of erotic poetry. Given her state of deshabille, one can only imagine what the poems might be.

The subject matter makes me lean closer to the earlier date of the painting. 1760 is still on the cusp between Rococo and Neoclassical, making a scene of ecstasy more believable. Also, the reading of Abelard and Heloise does not seem the proper subject for the Neoclassical style; that would have to be the poetry of Catullus.

On the other hand, 1780 comes just before the Revolution in France and the greater emphasis on Classical models. The subject could fit the decadence of the old regime.