A Woodland Glade

Adolphe Monticelli 1824 - 1886

Summary

This impression by Adolphe Monticelli depicts ladies meeting during a summer walk in the woods. In the centre, two figures stretch out their arms to embrace, while the others look on, dispersed in a wide circle around them. Another figure can be seen on the path that leads out of the glade to more open countryside beyond. The paint is laid on in thick impasto and the vegetation is suggested by tiny touches of colour. Monticelli was a Frenchman of Italian origin, who painted romantic fantasies of figures feasting or picnicking in gardens, inspired by the fêtes galantes of the 18th century French painter Antoine Watteau (1684-1721).