Scuola francese (XVIII-XIX) - Scena Galante - NO RESERVE

The refined painting, oil on canvas, here proposed, constitutes an elegant testimony of genre painting of Rococo origin, faithful to the Arcadian ideal of the fêtes galantes, from Watteau’s repertoire to Lancret and Pater’s genre painting. The composition unfolds with a fluid figurative syntax: two figures advance in the foreground along a tree-lined path: the lady, with a composed expression, modestly holds a flower tied with a pale blue ribbon, while the cavalier leans toward her with restraint. A large oak on the left balances the opening of the sky, and the path leads the observer’s gaze toward the couple, in a harmonious configuration. The costume is rendered with sartorial care. The lady wears a yellow dress with dorsal pleats over a finely drawn white petticoat, with lace-engageantes, blue bows, and a powdered hairstyle adorned with flowers. The cavalier wears a coral habit with gold embroidery, a embroidered waistcoat, jabot, black culottes, white stockings, and buckle shoes, with the tricorn held under the arm and the hilt of the sword barely visible at the hip. The chromatic palette is refined and magnificently calibrated: the intense yellows and warm pinks of the garments rise against the brown-greens of the foliage, with crystal accents in the blue ribbons and in a clear sky animated by rosy cumuli. The painting technique is smooth and velvety in the flesh tones, more free and painterly in the vegetation, with highlights that give relief to the fabrics. The texture of the canvas and the varnish patina, with its craquelure, add great charm to the composition. The painting has been recently cleaned and restored. The verso bears a reinforcement to guarantee the canvas’s stability. It comes from a private Venetian collection. As a courtesy, accompanying the work, a gilt frame in the Luigi XV Rocaille style with volute ornaments and cartouches, gold leaf, is included. Dimensions: 56 cm x 47 cm.

Estimate:$1,120.1

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