"The Most Beautiful Pastel Ever Seen"

Book excerpt: The Chocolate Girl is one of the most famous works by the Swiss artist Jean- tienne Liotard (1702-1789). This remarkable painting shows an unknown domestic servant--until then a rarely chosen subject--carrying a luxurious chocolate drink on a platter. Its sober and precise observation exemplifies the art of the Enlightenment and anticipates the realism of the nineteenth century. The painting had a tremendous effect in its time--deemed "the most beautiful pastel ever seen" by Liotard's contemporary Rosalba Carriera--and remains influential today. This richly illustrated volume leads the reader through the age in which The Chocolate Girl was created, during the French-inspired rococo, and in the Vienna of Empress Maria Theresa. Situating the painting alongside characteristic works from other creative periods, the editors illuminate the art of pastel painting in which this enchanting work was executed.