The reception of French painting in Britain, c. 1690–c. 1740

The reception of French pictures, artists and art literature in Britain during the early eighteenth century has hitherto remained an understudied area within British art history. Modern scholarship has often characterised this period as experiencing an influx of continental influences which aided the development of British art, collecting, and patronage. However, there is the tendency to focus such a study within the latter decades of the century. This thesis combines document-based research with pictorial study in order to determine the ways that English audiences responded to the presence of French pictures, but also imitated, modified and criticised French artistic ideas and forms during the period Four chapters explore the different ways in which English travellers, collectors and patrons came to acquire, commission and learn about French painting. This will firstly be achieved through a consideration of English artists visiting Paris during this period, and associated travel literature, particularly the notebook of the painter James Thornhill. This leads to an examination of the interactions between collectors and their agents and dealers in the acquisition of French pictures on the London art market and abroad. This study also establishes the impact of French visual and literary sources on the mural paintings of Louis Laguerre and his English patrons. Lastly, this thesis considers the readership for French art literature and the contribution of English translations and treatises. Together, these topics serve to illustrate the multitude of ways in which French art and ideas became embedded within English artistic culture during this period