Decorative sofa with patterned cushions and a tapestry in the background

Liotard Revolutionary Decorative Pillow

Square 12" / Soft Velvet / Polyester Fiber
$88.45
$88.45
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Decorative sofa with patterned cushions and a tapestry in the background
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  • Decorative sofa with patterned cushions and a tapestry in the background
  • Pillow with a portrait of a man from the 18th century on a white background
  • Pillow with a portrait of a man from the 18th century on a plain background
  • Decorative sofa with patterned cushions and a tapestry in the background
  • Pillow with a portrait of a man from the 18th century on a white background
  • Pillow with a portrait of a man from the 18th century on a plain background
Liotard Revolutionary Decorative Pillow

Rococo · Liotard 1757 · Designer Cushion

Liotard Revolutionary Decorative Pillow

$88.45
$88.45
Description

Jean-Étienne Liotard was the most alert portraitist of the eighteenth century. Where other painters of the Rococo period flattered their sitters into a kind of ideal softness, Liotard looked at faces with a directness that bordered on impertinence. The man in this painting, dated 1757, looks back with the same quality: a slight, knowing smile; clear, assessing eyes; the faintest suggestion that he has understood you before you have finished speaking.

Liotard (1702–1789) was born in Geneva and worked across Europe and the Near East, painting in pastel with a precision and luminosity that no contemporary could match. The subject wears a pale rose-pink coat — the fabric rendered with Liotard’s characteristic attention to textile weight and surface — a white lace jabot at the throat, and a black velvet collar. His powdered wig is dressed in the formal style of the mid-eighteenth century. What makes the picture exceptional is the expression: specific, amused, observant. The picture survives because the observation does.

Reproduced across a heavyweight designer textile, the print fidelity sufficient to resolve the fine pastel work: the soft gradations in the flesh tones, the textile detail of the coat, the subtle modelling of the lace. Four curated fabric options at checkout. Six sizes from 12″×12″ to 24″×24″. Cushion pad sold separately.
Specification & Care

Things Worth Knowing
Specifications

Construction: Heavyweight Designer Textile

Fabric Options: Four Curated Designer Fabrics, Select at Checkout

Closure: Full-Length Zip, Easy Cushion Insertion and Removal

Available Sizes: 12″×12″ · 16″×16″ · 20″×14″ · 20″×20″ · 22″×16″ · 24″×24″

Includes: Cushion Cover Only. Cushion Pad Sold Separately.

Source: After Jean-Étienne Liotard, pastel portrait, 1757

Care: Machine wash gently at 86°F (30°C). Tumble dry low. Iron on low heat. Remove pad before washing.
A Note from Jeff

I have been looking at Liotard for a long time, and the thing that consistently strikes me about his portraits is how little they give away. He observed his sitters carefully and recorded exactly what he saw, and what he saw was almost always more complicated than the official version. The man in the pink coat is amused by something, and the something is probably you.

For a reading chair or the end of a sofa where someone will sit and look at it for a long time, this is exactly the right picture to have available. Liotard intended his work to be looked at slowly. It rewards that.

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