Tickets
English
DonateMembershipTickets

The Servant Justified

ca. 1740
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 629
In this image a wayward husband pursues a servant girl but, realizing he has been observed by a woman in a window, changes course. Later, he invites his wife to engage in a dalliance in the garden to create an alibi. The story comes from Jean de La Fontaine’s Fables, which enjoyed enormous success in eighteenth-century France as a commentary on contemporary social mores, including gender roles. This painting is one of nine oils on copper that Lancret painted based on La Fontaine, which were engraved during the 1730s and 1740s.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Servant Justified
  • Artist: Nicolas Lancret (French, Paris 1690–1743 Paris)
  • Date: ca. 1740
  • Medium: Oil on copper
  • Dimensions: 11 x 14 in. (27.9 x 35.6 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Walter and Leonore Annenberg and The Annenberg Foundation Gift, 2004
  • Object Number: 2004.85
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

More Artwork

More Artwork
Brother Philippe's Geese, Nicolas Lancret French, Oil on copper
Brother Philippe's Geese
Nicolas Lancret
ca. 1736
Guitar, Jean-Baptiste Voboam French, Spruce, tortoiseshell, mother-of-pearl, ivory, ebony, French
Guitar
attributed to Jean-Baptiste Voboam
1697
The Backgammon Players, Philip Webb British, Painted pine, oil paint on leather, brass, copper, British
The Backgammon Players
Designer Philip Webb
Manufacturer Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co.
Painted by Sir Edward Burne-Jones
1861
Soap Bubbles, Jean Siméon Chardin French, Oil on canvas
Soap Bubbles
Jean Siméon Chardin
ca. 1733–34
Studies of a Couple Seated on the Ground, Looking at a Songbook, Nicolas Lancret French, Red, black, and white chalk on light gray-brown paper
Studies of a Couple Seated on the Ground, Looking at a Songbook
Nicolas Lancret
ca. 1740

Related Content

Publications

Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please contact us using the form below. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.

Send feedback

Content Notice

The Metropolitan Museum of Art presents over 5,000 years of art from around the world, and our online collection reflects ongoing work conducted over the course of our more than 150-year history. You may encounter objects or images that may be inappropriate for some viewers or information that may be outdated.