''Fête galante'' () (courtship party) is a category of painting specially created by the

French Academy French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

in 1717 to describe Antoine Watteau's (1684–1721) variations on the theme of the fête champêtre, which featured figures in ball dress or masquerade costumes disporting themselves amorously in parkland settings. When Watteau applied to join the French academy in 1717, there was no suitable category for his works, so the academy simply created one rather than reject his application. His

reception piece In art, a reception piece is a work submitted by an artist to an academy for approval as part of the requirements for admission to membership. The piece is normally representative of the artist's work, and the organization's judgement of its skil ...

was the '' Embarkation for Cythera'', now in the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

.Clarke, M. & D. (2010) "fête galante" in ''The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art Terms''. oxfordreference.com,

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

. Retrieved 8 November 2013.Fête Galante
''Glossary'',

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of more than 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current di ...

, 2013. Retrieved 8 November 2013. Watteau wanted recognition from the government-appointed Academy of Painting and Sculpture. The Academy upheld the

hierarchy of genres A hierarchy of genres is any formalization which ranks different genres in an art form in terms of their prestige and cultural value. In literature, the Epic poetry, epic was considered the highest form, for the reason expressed by ...

, ranking scenes of everyday life and portraits, the paintings most desired by private patrons, as lower than morally educational paintings illustrating

history painting History painting is a genre in painting defined by its subject matter rather than any artistic style or specific period. History paintings depict a moment in a narrative story, most often (but not exclusively) Greek and Roman mythology and B ...

s, including

allegories As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory throughou ...

and scenes from

mythology Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...

. File:Jean-Antoine Watteau - Fêtes Venitiennes - Google Art Project.jpg, Fêtes Vénitiennes File:Jean-Antoine Watteau - Mezzetin.JPG, Mezzetin, 1718/9

Wider context

''Fête galante'' paintings are an important part of the

Rococo Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...

period of art, which saw the focus of European arts move away from the hierarchical, standardized grandeur of the church and

royal court A royal court, often called simply a court when the royal context is clear, is an extended royal household in a monarchy, including all those who regularly attend on a monarch, or another central figure. Hence, the word ''court'' may also be app ...

and toward an appreciation for intimacy and personal pleasures. Nonetheless, the lush, outdoor settings of ''fête galante'' paintings were often borrowed from earlier paintings, especially from Venetian paintings of the 16th century and Dutch paintings of the 17th century. The nineteenth century saw an anachronistic revival of such scenes in the ''costume genre'' depictions or ''scene galante'' paintings by, for example, Arturo Ricci. File:Nicolas Lancret 001.jpg,

Nicolas Lancret Nicolas Lancret (; 22 January 1690 – 14 September 1743) was a List of French artists, French painter. Born in Paris, he was a brilliant depicter of light comedy which reflected the tastes and manners of French society during the Régence, regen ...

, circa 1730 File:Declarationoflove.jpg, Jean François de Troy, ''The Declaration of Love, 1731.''

Examples

Gaston_La_Touche_-_The_Arbor_-_Walters_372626

* '' L'Accord Parfait'' (LACMA)- painted by Watteau between 1717 and 1718. A lovely young woman holds music for a homely old man playing a

flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

. * '' Le Collation'' - by Pater. Gentry flirt and pick flowers before a female nude reclining on a mound shaped like a sea shell. The nude probably represents the goddess

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is often called Earth's "twin" or "sister" planet for having almost the same size and mass, and the closest orbit to Earth's. While both are rocky planets, Venus has an atmosphere much thicker ...

. * '' Danse dans le Parc'' - by

. Lavishly dressed courtiers dance before the statue of an heroic male nude. Male nudes were a favorite subject of history paintings, so this statue clearly is meant to elevate the dancers to "historical" status. * '' Declaration of Love'' - painted by Jean François de Troy in 1731. De Troy's style is much more realistic than most. This painting was purchased by

Frederick II of Prussia Frederick II (; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was the monarch of Prussia from 1740 until his death in 1786. He was the last Hohenzollern monarch titled ''King in Prussia'', declaring himself '' King of Prussia'' after annexing Royal Prus ...

and hung in the Sans Souci palace. * '' Les Deux Cousines'' - painted by Watteau between 1717 and 1718. Two women in white

satin A satin weave is a type of Textile, fabric weave that produces a characteristically glossy, smooth or lustrous material, typically with a glossy top surface and a dull back; it is not durable, as it tends to snag. It is one of three fundamen ...

gowns are offered a red cape by a gallant young man. As in other fête galante paintings, Greco-Roman statues along the lake help elevate this genre scene to

status. * '' Gardens of the Villa d'Este at Tivoli'' - painted by Fragonard.

Classical architecture Classical architecture typically refers to architecture consciously derived from the principles of Ancient Greek architecture, Greek and Ancient Roman architecture, Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or more specifically, from ''De archit ...

provides the backdrop for an outdoor meal and games. * '' A Lady in a Garden Taking Coffee With Some Children'' - painted by Lancret about 1742. A woman seated next to a fountain in a lavish garden spoons some exotic coffee over to her children while two men- probably a husband and a servant- look on. * '' Mezzetino'' - painted by Watteau between 1718 and 1720. Not technically a fête galante, this painting shows a pathetic figure from the Italian

commedia dell'arte Commedia dell'arte was an early form of professional theatre, originating from Theatre of Italy, Italian theatre, that was popular throughout Europe between the 16th and 18th centuries. It was formerly called Italian comedy in English and is a ...

serenading a statue. * ''A Pilgrimage to Cythera'' - painted by Watteau in 1717. Beautifully dressed aristocrats, attended by cherubs, visit an island supposedly dedicated to the ancient love goddess Cythera. This painting is often held up as the prototype of the fête galante. * '' The Shepherds'' - painted by Watteau about 1716. This painting plays on a long tradition of aristocrats pretending to be rural shepherds, a tradition which flourished in the 18th century, most famously at the mock hamlet of

Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette (; ; Maria Antonia Josefa Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last List of French royal consorts, queen of France before the French Revolution and the establishment of the French First Republic. She was the ...

. * '' Venetian Pleasures'' - painted by Watteau between 1718 and 1719. Two dancers (the man in Arabian costume) perform for a crowd of onlookers in front of a statue of Venus. The bagpiper may be a

self-portrait Self-portraits are Portrait painting, portraits artists make of themselves. Although self-portraits have been made since the earliest times, the practice of self-portraiture only gaining momentum in the Early Renaissance in the mid-15th century ...

References

External links

* National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
"Watteau and the Fête Galante"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fete Galante Rococo art Visual arts genres Rococo paintings