''The Alarm'' is an oil on canvas painting by French painter

Jean-François de Troy Jean-François de Troy (27 January 1679, Paris – 26 January 1752, Rome) was a French Rococo easel and fresco painter, draughtsman and tapestry designer. One of France's leading history painters in his time, he was equally successful with his de ...

, from 1723. It is held in the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

, in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

History and description

De Troy is considered the creator of the "tableaux de mode", of which this painting is an example. The painting was originally attributed to

Antoine Watteau Jean-Antoine Watteau (, , ; baptised October 10, 1684died July 18, 1721) Alsavailablevia Oxford Art Online (subscription needed). was a French painter and draughtsman whose brief career spurred the revival of interest in colour and movement, a ...

and is certainly inspired by his style. The work, like others of the author, is erotically charged. It depicts a secret meeting between two lovers, most likely of the nobility, because of their fine clothing, in a balustrade of a garden. The encounter and a possible kiss between the woman, at the left, and the man, is interrupted by a maid, who warns them of an upcoming danger. The woman is dressed in white and has one of her hands in a fountain with a grotesque face, that stands at the middle of the painting, perhaps as an erotic reference, while the androgynous looking man is ellegantly dressed in brown. A nude classical statue of a nymph stands above the couple.

Provenance

The painting was offered to the

by John Jones, in 1882.The Alarm, Victoria & Albert Museum
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alarm, The 1723 paintings Paintings by Jean-François de Troy Paintings in the Victoria and Albert Museum