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| François de Troy La Duchesse de La Ferté with the Duc de Bretagne and the Duc d’Anjou ca. 1712 oil on canvas Temple Newsam House, Leeds |
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| Jean-Baptiste Santerre Philippe, duc d'Orléans ca. 1710-1717 oil on canvas Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, West Midlands |
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| Anonymous French Artist Prince James Francis Edward Stuart (the Old Pretender) in classical military costume as a child in exile in France ca. 1700 oil on canvas National Trust, Fyvie Castle, Aberdeenshire, Scotland |
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| Antoine Pesne Prince James Francis Edward Stuart (the Old Pretender) 1740 oil on canvas Shire Hall, Warwick |
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| Anonymous French Artist Portrait of a Lady and a Gentleman costumed as Pomona and Vertumnus ca. 1704 oil on canvas Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, County Durham |
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| Anonymous French Artist Portrait of an Admiral ca. 1710 oil on canvas Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, County Durham |
from Alone
I feel the French maybe exaggerate the benefits of being alone. That philosopher and writer Jean-Paul Sartre for example, his play Huis-clos with its famous line "L'enfer, c'est les autres." Yes, we all know how annoying other people often are, and how strong the urge to escape from them can be. But the two characters Vladimir and Estragon in Beckett's Waiting for Godot show that even in an absurdist setting companionship has its importance. It's said Beckett got his inspiration for this play from one or other of two versions of Caspar David Friedrich's painting Two Men Contemplating the Moon which he saw on a trip to Germany in 1936 or '37. In both versions of the painting one of the men has his hand on the other man's shoulder, a sign of companionship if ever there was one.
– Matthew Sweeney (2017)
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| Jean-Baptiste Oudry The Dead Roe 1721 oil on canvas Wallace Collection, London |
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| Jean-Baptiste Oudry The Dead Wolf 1721 oil on canvas Wallace Collection, London |
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| Charles-François Lacroix Wreck on a Rocky Coast ca. 1750 oil on canvas National Trust, Culzean Castle, Ayrshire, Scotland |
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| Philippe Mercier Mrs Shakespeare 1739 oil on canvas The Hepworth, Wakefield, Yorkshire |
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| Anonymous French Artist Madame de Pompadour in Classical Costume ca. 1750-60 oil on canvas Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, County Durham |
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| François Boucher Venus and Cupid ca. 1750-60 oil on canvas Wallace Collection, London |
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| François Boucher The Judgment of Paris 1754 oil on canvas Wallace Collection, London |
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| François Boucher Venus and Vulcan 1754 oil on canvas Wallace Collection, London |
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| Jean-Honoré Fragonard The Swing 1767 oil on canvas Wallace Collection, London |