"The Chocolate Girl is one of the most famous works by the Genevan artist Jean-Etienne Liotard. This richly illustrated volume leads the reader through the age in which it was created during the French-inspired Rococo and into the Vienna of Empress Maria Theresa, where the work was painted. It also explains the art of pastel painting, in which this enchanting work has been executed. The painting had a tremendous effect in those days and still does so today. Even during Liotard's life (1702-1789) his pastel painting was highly valued, as the description by the most famous pastel artist Rosalba Carriera as 'the most beautiful pastel' demonstrates. The Chocolate Girl shows a simple, unknown domestic servant, until then a rarely chosen subject. In its sober and precise observation it reflects the art of the Enlightenment as well as anticipating the realism of the nineteenth century. Chocolate itself, always associated with pleasure, contributes further to the particular charm. Characteristic works from other creative periods complete the overview of Liotard's oeuvre"--Publisher's website

• Marcel Roethlisberger
• Stephan Koja and Verena Perlhefter
• Roland Enke
• Holger Schuckelt
• Julia Weber
• Christian Rumelin
• Roland Enke
• Christoph Scholzel
• Elisabeth Schlesinger
• Susanne Drexler
• Rolane Enke and Susanne Drexler On Jean-Etienne Liotard: Life and Work / Jean-Etienne Liotard and Maria Theresa's Vienna / From "Stoubmenche" to Chocolate Girl oon Jean-Etienne Liotard's Iconic Pastel Painting in Dresden's Gemaldegalerie / The Turkish fashion in Saxony / What struck Algarotti as Chinese in Liotard's Chocolate Girl / The drawings of Jean-Étienne Liotard / The "Kabinett der Rosalba" on the history of the Pastel Cabinet in Dresden's Gemäldegalerie / "Un Tableau en Pastel"
• Observations on painting techniques in Jean-Etienne Liotard's Chocolate Girl / The Chocolate Girl's Ornamental Frame / Chocolate, Tea, Coffee : a brief history of the Europeanization of Three Exotic Hot Beverages / Interpretations of the Chocolate Girl in Art and Everyday Culture /