The Meeting

1746
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 630
Longhi made his career with small-scale scenes of contemporary Venetian life, often focused on erotic anecdotes and not necessarily with clear narrative sequences. Like those of his English contemporary Hogarth, many of these compositions were engraved and circulated as prints throughout Europe. Here, amid the games of disguise that fueled flirtations during Carnival, a man in blue invites a woman for a tryst. The man in the red cloak holds keys to a private theater box that he is willing to rent to the couple for a private meeting. In the mirror overhead, the reflection of a canopied bed and a painting of the Holy Family offers ironic commentary on the scene.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Meeting
  • Artist: Pietro Longhi (Pietro Falca) (Italian, Venice 1701–1785 Venice)
  • Date: 1746
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 24 x 19 1/2 in. (61 x 49.5 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Gift of Samuel H. Kress, 1936
  • Object Number: 36.16
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

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