Jean Jacques François Le Barbier

Jean Jacques François Le Barbier was an artist active across the late 18th century, with his professional period documented between 1760 and 1788. His work is preserved in significant American institutional holdings, including the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The seven documented pieces represented in museum collections demonstrate Le Barbier’s ability across various mediums, specifically focusing on textiles (five works) and drawings (two works). His output includes both decorative studies and ambitious narrative subjects. Notable surviving works held in the Metropolitan Museum of Art include the preparatory drawing Design for a Torchère and the classical figural study Bacchanal.

Le Barbier also engaged in large-scale thematic projects executed as textiles. He created a significant geographical series, fragments of which include the documented works Africa, America, and Asia. These pieces are part of an extensive design, presumably representing The Four Continents.

Due to the limited number of original pieces held institutionally, high-quality prints derived from the documented works of Jean Jacques François Le Barbier provide important access for study. Many late 18th-century compositions such as these have entered the public domain, ensuring that downloadable artwork and digital access to Jean Jacques François Le Barbier prints remain widely available for art historians and private collectors.