He became a member of the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture in 1717, gaining early recognition for his ability to blend playful storytelling with a refined, painterly technique. Lancret’s compositions are noted for their elegant arrangements of figures and their attentive depiction of contemporary fashions, architecture and social customs, offering both aesthetic pleasure and a window into early 18th-century Parisian life. His work was often compared to that of Antoine Watteau, and indeed he shared Watteau’s interest in fête galante, though Lancret’s style was considered somewhat lighter, more delicate, and imbued with a cheerful intimacy.
Throughout his career, Lancret exhibited regularly at the Paris salons, contributing to the Rococo movement’s visual vocabulary of charm, wit, and social observation. Today, his paintings are held in major European collections, valued for their spirited representation of leisure, refinement and the subtle theatricality that defines the era.
Nicolas Lancret (Paris 1690-1743)
'Que le coeur d'un amant est sujet à changer' ('That the Heart of a Lover is Subject to Change')
NICOLAS LANCRET (PARIS 1690-1743)
Fête champêtre with a dancing couple
Nicolas Lancret (Paris 1690-1743)
Two elegant couples in conversation
Nicolas Lancret Paris 1690-1743
Le Berger Indécis
Nicolas Lancret (Paris 1690-1743)
Elegant figures dancing in a wooded landscape
NICOLAS LANCRET (PARIS 1690-1743)
A young couple courting over a bird's nest (' Le Nid d'Oiseaux ')
Circle of Philip Mercier (Berlin 1689/91-1760 London)
Elegant figures resting in a park landscape
Jean-Jacques Lagrenée II (Paris 1739-1821)
The Abduction of Oreithya by Boreas
Circle of Nicolas Lancret (Paris 1690-1743)
Portrait of a lady and gentleman, as Venus and Adonis, in a wooded landscape
DANS LE GOÛT DE NICOLAS LANCRET
L'Automne ; L'Hiver
NICOLAS LANCRET (PARIS 1690-1743)
Le Nid d'Oiseaux
Nicolas Lancret (Paris 1690-1743)
A lady with her page
NICOLAS LANCRET (PARIS 1690-1743)
Femme à sa toilette
Follower of Nicolas Lancret
Le concert interrompu
Follower of Nicolas Lancret
A fête champétre
After Nicolas Lancret
A group of six canvases with scenes from everyday life
NICOLAS LANCRET (PARIS 1690-1743)
Homme debout tenant une lettre (l'acteur Grandval)
NICOLAS LANCRET (PARIS 1690-1745)
Two seated women reading music
Circle of Nicolas Lancret (Paris 1690-1743)
A lady cleaning a copper pot in an interior, a dog at her feet
Follower of Nicolas Lancret
A lady and a gentleman dancing, surrounded by other women, in a wooded park landscape
Circle of Nicolas Lancret (Paris 1690-1743)
A fête champetre
AFTER NICOLAS LANCRET
Le Bal
Nicolas Lancret (Paris 1690-1745)
A young man, bust-length, looking to the right
ENTOURAGE DE NICOLAS LANCRET (PARIS 1690-1743)
Femme assise
D'APRÈS NICOLAS LANCRET
Étude d'un couple amoureux pour La Déclaration d'amour
Manner of Nicolas Lancret
Elegant figures making music in a landscape
Follower of Nicholas Lancret
Elegant skaters on a frozen pond
AFTER NICOLAS LANCRET
Le Bal
ATTRIBUTED TO NICOLAS LANCRET (PARIS 1690-1743)
The Caged Bird
Follower of Nicolas Lancret
An amorous couple in a classical garden
After Nicolas Lancret
Winter: Skaters in a winter landscape
NICOLAS LANCRET (PARIS 1690-1745)
Êtude de deux têtes de femmes