The Toilet of Venus (Boucher)

The Toilet of Venus is an oil painting on canvas completed in 1751 by the French Rococo painter François Boucher. It was commissioned by Madame de Pompadour, for her shared retreat with her lover, King Louis XV. The painting portrays a nude Venus, seated on an ornate love seat alongside three putti, surrounded by rich fabrics and precious objects. A cassolette in the lower right corner acts as a small nod to the Classical style and inadvertently foreshadows the Neoclassical athénienne. Additionally, Boucher's involvement in theatrical design and Madame de Pompadour's role of Venus in an opera-ballet production likely influenced the painting's style and subject. It was originally conceived as a pendant to Boucher's Bath of Venus, but the two paintings are now housed in different museums. The Toilet of Venus is currently held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.