When Madame du Barry, King Louis XV’s last mistress, pleaded for “just a little moment more” before her execution in 1793, in the throes of the French Revolution, she seemed to capture the fleeting ...

Detail view of Yvette Mayorga, “Resting Scrolling, After François Boucher’s ‘Madame de Pompadour,’ 1756” (2022) (all images courtesy The Momentary) BENTONVILLE, Ark. — In art historical accounts, the ...

Doomed to be thrust from power by the onrushing forces of history, the aristocracy of 18th century Europe elected to live out its autumn in a sort of perpetual costume party. It was an age of ...

So closely do Disney's animators assimilate the sensibility of French design that on occasion their source material appears almost more Disney than Disney itself. Indeed, so familiar are the animated ...

Though young viewers may not realize it, the animators of some of Disney’s most memorable films drew deeply from European visual culture. In “Inspiring Walt Disney: The Animation of French Decorative ...

Every beachcomber knows that sea shells are beautiful, yet few know they are so beautiful that once their shape inspired a style that spread across half of Europe. During the 18th century, painters, ...

The art of the Rococo was not merely supposed to be fun (“Icons: Disney Knows Rococo,” Review, Nov. 27); it is frequently suggestive, intended for the private delectation of adult viewers. Jean-Honoré ...