The Alarm; La Gouvernante Fidèle

Physical description

A couple of lover sits by a fountain with a grotesque; above a reclining classical nymph surmounts a balustrade, upon which a maid leans towards the couple with a dramatic gesture.

Place of Origin

Paris, France (painted)

Date

1723 (painted)

Artist/maker

Troy, Jean Francois de, born 1679 - died 1752 (production)

Materials and Techniques

oil on canvas

Marks and inscriptions

'J F DE TROY 1723'

Dimensions

Height: 69.5 cm estimate, Width: 63.8 cm estimate, Length: 904 mm framed, Width: 780 mm framed, Depth: 103 mm framed

Object history note

Bequeathed by John Jones, 1882

Historical significance: Originally attributed to Watteau, this painting has been restored to de Troy's authorship before 1893. It is a good example of the erotically charged genre scenes for which de Troy became best known. It shows two lovers at a fountain, interrupted by a maid. They wear typical 18th-century costume and are depicted in a romantic garden. The gesture of the lady in white with one hand on the fountain grotesque's mask echoes the gesture of the sculpted nymph above and alludes to her secret rendezvous.
This compositional idea is reminiscent of the art of Watteau who developed the genre of the 'fête galante' at the beginning of the 18th century. Although Watteau's 'fête galante' was pervaded with mystery and a sense of timeless feast, de Troy presents a more authentic portrayal of contemporary manners, fashions and pastimes, hence the appellation 'tableaux de modes', whose invention he has been credited with. The presence of nature plays an important role in these pictures and contributes in developing a formula repeated with success by many artists until the French Revolution.
These gallant pieces intersect with the taste for a new sensuality, developed later in the century in the libertine philosophy and exemplified in such texts as Dangerous Acquaintances by Choderlos de Laclos and the Marquis de Sade's Philosophy in the Bedroom.
This painting is traditionally dated 1723 (inscribed at the bottom of the fountain) but the composition was engraved in reverse by Charles-Nicolas Cochin père about ten years later and bears an inscription reading: 1727. This painting is anyhow one of the earliest 'tableaux de mode' executed by de Troy and one of the most attractive. The print is accompanied by a few verse in French, which converts this piece into a moralising picture with a warning against the consequences of concealed love:
'Fuyez Iris, fuyez: ce séjour est à craindre.
Tandis que de ces eaux vous cherchez la fraîcheur,
Des discours d'un amant déffendez vôtre coeur,
lls allument un feu difficile à s'eteindre'.

Historical context note

Pastoral is a genre of painting whose subject is the idealized life of shepherds and shepherdesses set in an ideally beautiful and idyllic landscape. These scenes are reminiscent of the Arcadia, the Antique Golden Age that the Roman author Virgil (1St BC) described in the Eclogues and were at the time illustrated on the Roman wall paintings. The pastoral was reborn during the Renaissance, especially in Venice, in the oeuvre of such painters as Titian (ca. 1488-1576) and Giorgione (1477-1510), and gradually evolved over the centuries. In the 17th century, Arcadian themes were illustrated in the Roman school led by the painter Claude Lorrain (1604-1682) whereas a century later, Antoine Watteau (1684-1721) and his followers forged the new genre of fêtes galantes, which appears as a derivation of the pastoral. The pastoral became the hallmark of the Rococo movement in which François Boucher's (1703-1770) elegant eroticism found his true expression. This tradition, which had become an illustration of the carefree aristocratic world, died with the French revolution and was never revived although the celebration of the timeless Mediterranean world in the oeuvre of such painter as Henri Matisse (1869-1954) may be seen as a continuing interest for the theme.

Descriptive line

Oil painting, 'The Alarm (La Gouvernante Fidèle)', Jean-François de Troy, French school, 1723

Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)

C.M. Kauffmann, Catalogue of Foreign Paintings, I. Before 1800. London, 1973, pp. 275-276, cat. no. 342.
The following is the full text of the entry:

Jean Francis De TROY (1679-1752)
French School
Born in Paris, he was a pupil of his father, François De Troy (1645-1730) and at the Académie Royale. He was in Italy from 1699 until 1706, staying in Rome, Florence and Pisa. In 1708 he became a member of the Académie. He was appointed director of the French Academy in Rome in 1738 and died there in 1752. His works include historical and mythological subjects, portraits, genre scenes and cartoons for tapestries.

342
THE ALARM or LA GOUVERNANTE FIDÈLE
Signed and dated indistinctly at the bottom of the fountain J F DE TROY 1723
Canvas
27 3/8 x 22 3/4 (69.5 x 63.8)
Jones Bequest
518-1882

Originally attributed to Watteau (Handbook, 1884) on account of a spurious signature, this painting was restored to De Troy when the true signature and date were discovered before 1893 (1893 Catalogue, p. 187).
A similar pair of lovers appears in two interiors by De Troy in the Wrightsman collection, New York: The Garter (dated 1724) and the Declaration of Love (each 25 X 20 ¾ in.; both exh. Salon 1725; France in the 18th century, R. A., 1968, nos. 669-70, repr.). A comparable exterior, also exhibited at the Salon of 1725 is the Game of 'Pied de Boeuf' formerly in the Seligman collection, Paris (Dimier, 1930, pl. I), and there are others in the Hermitage, Leningrad, at Chantilly and at Charlottenburg (exh. La peinture française du l8e siècle à la cour de Frédéric II, Paris, Louvre, 1963, no. 5, repr.), 518-1882 belongs to this group of early 'tableaux de modes', among which are some of De Troys most attractive works.
A copy (oil on canvas, 16 X 11 ½ in.) was in the Lamm Sales at New York (American Art Association, 21-4 Feb. 1923, lot 564) and Stockholm (24-5 Sep. 1923, lot 202). A water-colour copy, probably of the 19th century, is in the royal collection at Windsor (A. Blunt, French drawings at Windsor Castle, 1945, p. 58, no. 317). 518-1882 was engraved by C. N. Cochin (1688-1754) (reversed; repr. in Historisch-Interessante Bildnisse und Trachten aus dem K. Kupferstich-Cabinet in München, 1886-89, pl. 173) under the title La Gouvernante fidèle, with a verse appended:

'Fuyez Iris, fuyez: ce séiour est à craindre.
Tandis que de ces eaux vous cherchez la fraîcheur,
Des discours d'un amant déffendez vôtre coeur,
lls allument un feu difficile à s'eteindre'

Prov. John Jones ; bequeathed to the Museum in 1882.
Lit. Handbook to the Jones Collection, 1884, p. 139 f.; C. Phillips in Burl. Mag., xiii, 1908, p. 345; Long, Cat. Jones Coll. , 1923, p. 41, pl. 26; repr. Connoisseur, lxxix, 1927, p. 250; L. Dimier, Les peintres français du xviiie siècle, 1930, p. 6, pl. 2 (reversed); Thieme-Becker, xxxiii, 1939, p. 441.
100 Great Paintings in The Victoria & Albert Museum, London: V&A, 1985, p. 58
The following is the full text of the entry:

"Jean Francois de Troy 1679-1752
French School
THE ALARM, OR LA GOUVERNANTE FIDELE
Signed and dated indistinctly at the bottom of the fountain
J.F. de Troy 1723
Oil on canvas, 69.5 x 63.8 cm
518-1882. Jones Bequest.

This characteristic example of the art of the French Régence was painted in the last year of the regency of Philippe Duc d'Orléans (1674-1723), the nephew of Louis XIV, who was Regent of France from 1715 during the minority of Louis XV, great-grandson of Louis XIV.

It is usual to regard the Régence as a period in art-history extending from c.1705, to 1730 and marking the transition in France from the Baroque to the Rococo, with an easily identifiable character of its own. The Regency was marked by a relaxation in social behaviour, partly engendered by the profligacy of the Regent himself and partly a reaction against the constraints of the later years of Louis XIV. An erotic element appeared in much contemporary art and whilst this canvas is in no sense scandalous it clearly provided a mild element of titillation to the original spectator with its implication of sexual intrigue. Verses which appear on an engraved version of this subject - such engravings being very popular - makes it clear that the faithful gouvernante is not in fact warning of the approach of a father or jealous lover but rather of the dangers inherent in too receptive a response to the young man's protestations of love.

De Troy achieved eminence as a painter of genre, mythological, historical and religious subjects, as a portraitist and as a designer of tapestries. He became an académicien in 1708 and died in Rome as director of the French Academy there. It was for his lighthearted so-called tableaux de modes - suggested by the earlier success of Watteau - that he became most celebrated in his lifetime. These canvases were painted specifically to illustrate the costumes and manners of an increasingly frivolous society and, apart from their intrinsic merits, now constitute splendid records of the age. An early biographer comments that De Troy was himself something of a fribble and much in favour with 'respectable but tenderhearted ladies of the Paris bourgeoisie'. He undoubtedly painted his elegant scenes of contemporary life for a new clientele, many of his patrons being newly prosperous bankers and financiers. It is recorded that he painted no less than thirty-two overdoors for one such client!

The new elegance, lightness, fluidity of line and freshness of colour exemplified in De Troy's work met with a ready and enthusiastic response in a society reacting against staidness and formality in public behaviour.

Harold Barkley"
Handbook to the Jones Collection, 1884, p. 139 f.
C. Phillips in The Burlington Magazine, xiii, 1908, p. 345.
B. Long, Catalogue of the Jones Collection, London, 1923, p. 41, pl. 26; repr.
Connoisseur, lxxix, 1927, p. 250.
L. Dimier, Les peintres français du xviiie siècle, 1930, p. 6, pl. 2 (reversed).
U. Thieme and F. Becker, Allgemeines Lexikon der Bildenden Künstler, xxxiii, 1939, p. 441.
C. B. Bailey et alii, The Age of Watteau, Chardin and Fragonard: Masterpieces of French Genre Painting, New Haven and London, 2003, cat. no. 27, p. 166-167.
D. Wakefield, French Eighteenth Century Paintings, London, 1984, p. 52, fig. 49.

Exhibition History

The Age of Watteau, Chardin and Fragonard: Masterpieces of French Genre Painting (Staatliche Museen, Berlin 04/02/2004-09/05/2004)
The Age of Watteau, Chardin and Fragonard: Masterpieces of French Genre Painting (National Gallery of Art, Washington 12/10/2003-11/01/2004)
The Age of Watteau, Chardin and Fragonard: Masterpieces of French Genre Painting (National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa 06/06/2003-07/09/2003)

Labels and date

Revised Jones Gallery Label, November 2000 (Mary Guyatt):

THE ALARM
By Jean François De Troy (1679-1752)
FRENCH; dated 1723
Oil on canvas

This is one of several paintings by De Troy based on the theme of lovers interrupted. Compared to the disarray hinted at in other scenes, the couple here maintain their composure admirably well. As with all of De Troy's work, the narrative is key - one wonders who is approaching and why the liaison must be kept a secret.

Jones Bequest
518-1882 [2000]
The following is the label text from 1971 for Galleries 1-7 of the V&A:

"THE ALARM or LA GOURVERNATE-FIDELE
by JEAN FRANCOIS DE TROY (1679-1752).
Signed and dated 1723

French school. In an 18th century carved frame.

De Troy, who became director of the French Academy in Rome in 1738,
painted portraits and historical and mythological subjects as well as genre scenes. The pair of lovers seen here re-appear in several other paintings by him of this period. These are among his most attractive works.

Jones Collection. Museum No. 518-1882."

Materials

Oil paint; Canvas

Techniques

Oil painting

Subjects depicted

Figures; Gardens; Fountains; Lovers; Governess; Seductions

Categories

Paintings; Gardens & Gardening

Collection code

PDP