NEW PAINTINGS ACQUISITONS

Giovanni Paolo Panini; A Concert given by the Duc de Ninervais; Mid 18th-Century	J.S Chardin; A Boy building a House of Cards, 1735	Giovanni Paolo Panini; A Ball given by the Duc de Ninervais; Mid 18th-Century

This year, we are introducing three major additions to the collection. First, there is a magnificent pair of paintings by Giovanni Paolo Panini depicting the ball and concert given by the French ambassador to Paris, the wealthy, cultured duc de Nivernais, to celebrate the long-awaited birth of the eldest son of the Dauphin of France in 1751. On display in the White Drawing Room, both pictures are alive with details as the cream of Roman society gather in the ornate Salon of the Palazzo Farnese.

Secondly, in the Red Ante Room, one of the greatest of all French 18th-century painters makes a first appearance at Waddesdon, "Jean Simèon Chardin". Chardin painted A boy building a house of cards in 1735. Its pendant, A Lady taking tea, is now in the Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery. In June, the painting will disappear temporarily on loan to the Wallace Collection in London as part of the exhibition "Boucher and Chardin: Masters of Modern Manners", so be sure to catch it at the Manor before it leaves.