Essential Interactive Image

“Where the bottom of her foot is exposed to the viewers gaze” (Barolsky)

“Boucher both utterly conceals the front of Miss O'Murphy's body, at the same time that he conveys how her limbs and her body feel as they sink into her discarded garments, heightening the viewer's sense of her soft presence and the pressure of her body as it is touched by clothing.” (Barolsky)

“ Miss O'Murphy's entire body, especially of her buttocks now shown, not fully in the round [...] from an angle slightly from above to hint at but ultimately conceal what is to be fathomed only in the imagination." (Barolsky)

Mademoiselle O'Murphy (1752) is a renowned painting by the French Rococo artist François Boucher, created during the height of the Rococo movement, which was characterized by its emphasis on sensuality, ornamental luxury, and soft, pastel color palettes. The subject of the painting is Marie-Louise O'Murphy, a young woman who was one of the mistresses of King Louis XV of France. Boucher, a court painter to Louis XV, was known for his ability to depict voluptuous female figures in lush, exotic settings that combined both eroticism and elegance. The materials used in the creation of the piece include oil paints on canvas, a common medium for portraiture and decorative work during the 18th century. The work exemplifies Boucher's masterful use of light and color, with delicate skin tones and rich fabrics, as well as the luxurious textures of the woman’s silk gown and flowing hair. The playful, somewhat suggestive pose of O'Murphy, combined with the soft lighting and ethereal atmosphere, reflects Rococo's embrace of pleasure and beauty, while also alluding to the decadence and moral complexity of French aristocracy on the eve of the French Revolution. The painting is currently housed at the Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich, Germany, adding to the global appreciation of Boucher's contribution to 18th-century art.

Context:

Connection to Lecture

François Boucher's Mademoiselle O'Murphy (1752) delicately intertwines eroticism and disgust to provoke a complex psychological response. The portrait of Marie-Louise O'Murphy, Louis XV's mistress, is characterized by sensual, inviting elements — the soft lighting, the seductive posture, and the youthful, exposed figure — all designed to stimulate erotic excitement, triggering the brain's dopaminergic system, which is responsible for pleasure and reward. This invites the viewer into a space of indulgence and fantasy, typical of the Rococo period’s celebration of sensuality. However, there are elements in the work that introduce discomfort or even disgust, such as the passive, objectified portrayal of O'Murphy and the implied moral corruption associated with her role as a royal mistress. This evokes a visceral response, engaging the brain’s insula and anterior cingulate cortex, which process feelings of aversion and violations of social norms. The duality of erotic allure and moral decay creates a cognitive dissonance, where pleasure and discomfort coexist, prompting the viewer to confront the complex ethical implications of the subject's position in society. In this way, Boucher’s painting not only stimulates desire but also questions the viewer’s moral sensibilities, drawing attention to the tension between the pleasures of the flesh and the moral anxieties that accompany them.

Anja Foerschner

"food, Decay, Disgust"

François Boucher's Mademoiselle O'Murphy, though not a food still life, displays tension between luxury and moral anxiety, a theme discussed in “Food, Decay, and Disgust.” In the Rococo period, exemplified by Boucher's painting, the depiction of luxury and indulgence was prevalent, often portraying an idealized, sensual world of beauty and excess. Similarly to Dutch still lifes, which reflected the wealth and abundance of the Dutch Golden Age, Mademoiselle O'Murphy presents the viewer with a sumptuous visual experience, emphasizing opulence in the woman's attire and the exotic setting. However, much like the food still lifes’ symbolic undertone of transience and decay, Boucher's painting subtly reflects the impermanence of beauty and pleasure, offering a critique of the fleeting nature of such indulgence within the context of a society on the brink of social and political upheaval.

McCarthy's "Bossy Burger

While Dutch still lifes often contained a moral message about the dangers of vanity and the temporality of worldly pleasures, Boucher's sensual portrayal of beauty and excess hints at the same anxieties, framed within the context of an aristocracy facing an uncertain future. McCarthy's work, like the Dutch still lifes, critiques contemporary consumer culture, drawing attention to the excesses and contradictions inherent in a world where material wealth is pursued at the cost of deeper moral reflection. Both Boucher’s painting and the food still lifes, therefore, offer a visual language of indulgence, at once celebrating pleasure and subtly critiquing the moral implications of excess.