The Hermitage collection of the 15th-18th-century French painting is rich and variable. It enables us to trace the development of different styles and schools of that time.
With twelve works by Nicolas Poussin and the same number by Claude Gellee (Lorrain), paintings by the Le Nain brothers, Antoine Watteau, Francois Boucher, Jean-Honore Fragonard, Hubert Robert, Jean-Baptiste Greuze, Jean-Baptiste Chardin, the exhibition of French paintings from the 16th to 18th century is a highlight of the Hermitage.
Works by Nicolas Poussin, the founder of French Classicism, and Claude Lorrain, master of the Classical landscape, are allocated in separate rooms. Among Poussin's works are the early masterpieces Tancred and Erminia (1630s) and Landscape with Polyphemus (1640s).
Eight works by Antoine Watteau, including the notable Savoyard with a Marmot (about 1716), An Embarrassing Proposal (about 1716), and Capricious Lady (about 1718), represent the more intimate and elegant aspect of French art in the early 18th century.
