CORY REYNOLDS | DATE 2/14/2018

Ah, love… or at least seduction!

All talk of modern-day sexual misconduct aside, Casanova: The Seduction of Europe is an extremely exciting display of good old-fashioned eighteenth-century hedonism, with all of the “shimmering surfaces, flushed bare flesh and roiling curves” of the Rococo period (to quote the Wall Street Journal) perfectly matched to content. In his notorious memoirs, Casanova documented the seduction of more than 100 men and women—including virgin maidens, wayward wives, and at least one sacred nun. But he was also a public intellectual, a consort of some of the most influential figures of the day, “a lawyer, priest, medic, diplomat, violinist, gambler, gourmand, con man and spy.” All of these layers are brought to light in this Valentine's Day Staff Favorite, which gathers more than 200 paintings and decorative objects that recreate the world’s most famous Lothario’s visual world. Featured here is Tiepolo’s “Time Unveiling Truth” (1758).