{"product_id":"bouchers-four-seasons-9781913875732","title":"Boucher’s Four Seasons","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThis new volume in the Frick Diptych series features an illuminating essay by former Frick deputy director and Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator Xavier F. Salomon paired with a images of a new work created for the occasion by Flora Yukhnovich, along with a short text by the artist.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrançois Boucher (1703–1770) made the four paintings known as the \u003ci\u003eFour Seasons\u003c\/i\u003e in 1755 for Madame De Pompadour, King Louis XV’s long-term official mistress. Their original location is unknown, but their unusual shape suggests that they were used as overdoors, no doubt in one of Pompadour’s many properties in France.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn place of the labors that traditionally illustrate the theme of the four seasons, Boucher depicts delightful amorous encounters in joyous colors. In \u003ci\u003eSpring\u003c\/i\u003e, a youth, set in an enchanting pastoral setting, adorns his lover’s hair with flowers. A group of voluptuous bathing nudes represents \u003ci\u003eSummer\u003c\/i\u003e. In \u003ci\u003eAutumn\u003c\/i\u003e, a young man offers a bunch of grapes to his fashionable beloved. Perhaps the most beguiling of all is \u003ci\u003eWinter\u003c\/i\u003e, which reflects the eighteenth-century European fascination with Russia. A Tartar in pseudo-Russian dress pushes the heroine on an elaborate sleigh. This combination of luxury and seduction—all treated in a fanciful, even humorous manner—is typical of Boucher.\u003c\/p\u003eAccompanying the Boucher paintings are images of Flora Yuknovich's contribution, an extraordinary cycle of paintings inspired by Boucher’s \u003ci\u003eFour Seasons\u003c\/i\u003e, to be displayed at the Frick, in a space on the first floor, occupied between 1935 and 2020 by the Boucher Room.\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Xavier F. Salomon","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48281763315963,"sku":"9781913875732","price":29.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0779\/3917\/9771\/files\/9781913875732.jpg?v=1772488005","url":"https:\/\/indiepubs.com\/products\/bouchers-four-seasons-9781913875732","provider":"IndiePubs","version":"1.0","type":"link"}