Nicolas Pineau: Shaping Rococo Art

from 5 March to 18 May 2025

On the occasion of the Dessin 2025 fair, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs is paying tribute to Nicolas Pineau, an ornamental sculptor and architect, one of the major figures of the artistic renewal at the beginning of the 18th century.

The museum has a unique collection of nearly 500 drawings by the artist and his studio, which has just been completely restored. The current gallery presents a selection of these drawings, which show the design stages, enriched with gold and silver work, furniture and woodwork, in the spirit of a real workshop.

Information

Musée des Arts Décoratifs
107, rue de Rivoli
75001 Paris
France
Phone: +33 (0)1 44 55 57 50


• Access
• Opening Hours and Admission Fees


Curator

• Bénédicte Gady, curator in charge of collections of drawings, wallpapers and photographs.
• Assisted by Turner Edwards, Ph.D. and François Gilles, Ph.D.

Présentation

According to his contemporaries, this ornamental sculptor invented “contrast in ornaments” for this ornamental sculptor. Adept in measured asymmetry, playing subtly between fullness and voids, he distinguished himself in areas as diverse as woodwork, façade sculpture, architecture, printing, furniture, gold and silver work… In 1716, he was called to St. Petersburg by Czar Peter the Great, to work on the ornamentation of the Peterhof palace. Back in Paris in 1728, he worked for the Parisian nobility and Louis XV, while sending models to Germany and Russia.

By comparing drawings, most if which are on view for the first time with pieces of woodwork and objects from the Museum’s collection, this exhibition offers an unprecedented dive into the workshop of Rocaille art.

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