1738 in art

Events

• Louis-François Roubiliac's sculpture of George Frederick Handel goes on display at Vauxhall Gardens in London.

Paintings

• Andrea Casali – Portrait of Charles Frederick
• Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin – The Wash Barrel
• William Hogarth – The Strode Family
• Louis de Silvestre – Portrait of the Princess Maria Amalia of Saxony in Polish costume
• Jean-Baptiste van Loo – Portrait of William Murray

Births

• January 3 – Johann Friedrich Bause, German engraver
• June 4 – George III of the United Kingdom, patron of the arts and collector
• June 10 – Hubert Maurer, Austrian painter of portraits and religious themes
• July William Wynne Ryland, English engraver
• August 6 – Johann Balzer, Czech etcher and engraver
• October 10 – Benjamin West, painter
• December 20 – Claude Michel, French sculptor in the Rococo style date unknown
• * William Cochran, Scottish portrait painter both in oil and miniature
• * Antoine Raspal, French painter
• * Camillo Tinti, Italian painter
• * Fredrika Eleonora von Düben, Swedish textile artist, member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts

Deaths

• January 20 – Francesco Galli Bibiena, Italian architect/designer/painter
• January 27 – Alessandro Marchesini, Italian painter of allegories with small figures
• February 16 – Carel de Moor, Dutch etcher and painter
• August 9 – Pierre Drevet, French portrait engraver
• October 5 – Antonio Amorosi, Italian painter, active in Ascoli Piceno and Rome
• November – Giovanni Enrico Vaymer, Italian portrait painter
• November 18 – Hendrick Krock, Danish history painter date unknown
• * Felice Cappelletti, Italian painter of the late-Baroque period active in Verona
• * Giovanni Battista Cassana, Italian painter of fruit, flowers, and still-life
• * Edme Jeaurat, French engraver
• * Carlo Antonio Tavella, Italian painter of landscapes