The Cleveland Museum of Art Brings Together Rare Rococo Masterpieces for the First Time in History

CLEVELAND (October 20, 2026)—Juste-Aurèle Meissonnier: Rococo Goldsmith in Focus, the Cleveland Museum of Art’s (CMA) newest exhibition, brings an extraordinary group of the artist’s works of art together for the first time ever. Considered a genius goldsmith by his contemporaries and the most revolutionary forerunner of the Rococo style, Meissonnier’s most celebrated artwork—a silver tureen in CMA’s renowned collection, made for the 2nd Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull—is paired alongside CMA’s recently acquired gold box made for the queen of Spain, as well as important loans from the Louvre, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, and the David and Alfred Smart Museum of Art, the University of Chicago. 

The free exhibition, on view Sunday, October 25, 2026, through Sunday, March 14, 2027, in the Julia and Larry Pollock Focus Gallery, gives visitors the opportunity to see firsthand Meissonnier’s work, few of which survived political upheavals.  

“Only a handful of Meissonnier’s works in precious metals survived, making it especially exciting to see them together for the first time—including our new acquisition, a gold box made for the queen of Spain,” said Ada de Wit, Ellen S. and Bruce V. Mavec Curator of Decorative Arts. “We are incredibly lucky to have these hugely important works here in Cleveland. Meissonnier’s story is also one of a talent pushing against the rigid rules of his time. His work—and his struggles—remind us how difficult it can be for groundbreaking creativity to fit established definitions.” 

Born and trained in Turin, Italy, Meissonnier moved to Paris around 1715 to advance his career, although the conservative guild of Parisian goldsmiths made it particularly difficult for newcomers to register as masters and open their own workshops. Meissonnier’s ambition, creativity, and determination in pursuing his desired career path are apparent from his work and limited biographical information and continue to resonate today. 

At the heart of the exhibition is the silver tureen. Created nearly 300 years ago, it is all about innovation. Its shell-like, twisting form is alive with naturalistically depicted vegetables and animals—the very ingredients of the soup for which it was intended. It embodies the daring new Rococo aesthetic pioneered by its maker, whose imagination transformed a functional silver vessel into a work of sculpture. 

The tureen has recently been cleaned and analyzed by the CMA’s object conservators. It was also rephotographed, and a new 3-D model was created, allowing anyone with access to the CMA website to explore the artwork’s construction and intricate details. 

In addition, a recently acquired remarkable gold box made for Maria Anna of Neuburg, the queen of Spain, which has never been shown in a museum, is on view. A sophisticated work that can only be fully appreciated through close, in-person looking, the gold snuffbox was acquired through a private sale facilitated by the auction house, Christie’s, back in May of this year. Long regarded as among the finest of its kind and described as “an object in a class of its own,” the snuffbox’s superior design and execution, extraordinary level of detail, and the dramatic contrast of its gold and lapis lazuli materials make it the pinnacle of Meissonnier’s artistic achievement. The CMA’s snuffbox is one of only two gold boxes known to have his maker’s mark. 

“Thanks to close collaborations with colleagues at museums in Paris and Chicago, we are also able to bring other exceptional artworks made by Meissonnier. They include a rock crystal ewer with gold mounts that Queen Marie Antoinette of France kept in her private apartment. It was only in 2019 that the maker’s mark of Meissonnier was discovered on the handle of this ewer. It is thus the second known surviving work bearing his mark after our gold box—a piece of great artistic and historical significance. I am also delighted that we can reunite the CMA’s tureen with a visually striking candelabrum on loan from the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. Both objects were made for Evelyn Pierrepont, 2nd Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull,” said de Wit.  

Meissonnier challenged artistic thinking during his lifetime, and his enduring legacy continued to inspire generations of makers. In addition to his craftsmanship, he was also a prolific designer and aspiring architect, seamlessly maneuvering between media and disciplines. The study of this remarkable artist’s life and work continues to evolve. 

Catalogue 

A lavishly illustrated publication accompanies the exhibition. 

Major support is provided by the Malcolm E. Kenney Curatorial Research Fund. 

All exhibitions at the Cleveland Museum of Art are underwritten by the CMA Fund for Exhibitions. Principal annual support is provided by Michael Frank and the late Pat Snyder, the Kelvin and Eleanor Smith Foundation, the John and Jeanette Walton Exhibition Fund, and Margaret and Loyal Wilson. Major annual support is provided by the late Dick Blum and Harriet Warm and the Frankino-Dodero Family Fund for Exhibitions Endowment. Generous annual support is provided by two anonymous donors, Gini and Randy Barbato, Viia R. Beechler, Cynthia and Dale Brogan, Dr. Ben and Julia Brouhard, Brenda and Marshall Brown, Gail and Bill Calfee, the Leigh H. Carter family, Dr. William A. Chilcote Jr. and Dr. Barbara S. Kaplan, Mary and Jim Conway, Joseph and Susan Corsaro, Ron and Cheryl Davis, the Jeffery Wallace Ellis Trust in memory of Lloyd H. Ellis Jr., Leigh and Andy Fabens, Florence Kahane Goodman, Martha H. and Steven M. Hale, Janice Hammond and Edward Hemmelgarn, Linda Harper, Robin Heiser, the late Marta and the late Donald M. Jack Jr., the estate of Walter and Jean Kalberer, Robert M. Kaye, Jane and Doug Kern, the late Mrs. Nancy M. Lavelle, Eva and Rudolf Linnebach, William S. Lipscomb, Bill and Joyce Litzler, the Roy Minoff Family Fund, Lu Anne and the late Carl Morrison, Mrs. Peta and the late Dr. Roland Moskowitz, Jeffrey Mostade and Eric Nilson and Varun Shetty, Sarah Nash, Courtney and Michael Novak, Mark and Paula Nylander, Tim O’Brien and Breck Platner, Dr. Nicholas and Anne Ogan, William J. and Katherine T. O’Neill, Henry Ott-Hansen, Frank and Fran Porter, Christine Fae Powell, Peter and Julie Raskind, Michael and Cindy Resch, Marguerite and James Rigby, in memory of Dee Schafer, Betty T. and David M. Schneider, Elizabeth and Tim Sheeler, Saundra K. Stemen, Paula and Eugene Stevens, the Womens Council of the Cleveland Museum of Art, and Claudia Woods and David Osage. 

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About the Cleveland Museum of Art 

The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) is renowned for the quality and breadth of its collection, which includes more than 68,000 artworks and spans 6,000 years of achievement in the arts. The museum is a significant international forum for exhibitions, scholarship, and performing arts and is a leader in digital innovation. One of the leading encyclopedic art museums in the United States, the CMA is recognized for its award-winning open access program—which provides free digital access to images and information about works in the museum’s collection—and free of charge to all. The museum is located in the University Circle neighborhood with two satellite locations on Cleveland’s west side: the Community Arts Center and Transformer Station.  

The museum is supported in part by residents of Cuyahoga County through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture and made possible in part by the Ohio Arts Council (OAC), which receives support from the State of Ohio and the National Endowment for the Arts. The OAC is a state agency that funds and supports quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally, and economically. For more information about the museum and its holdings, programs, and events, call 888-CMA-0033 or visit cma.org.