Ladies on a Terrace

Adolphe Monticelli 1824 - 1886

Summary

Three ladies, elegantly dressed in red, green and gold, are drinking wine on a terrace on a summer's day. A dog watches quietly. The background of highly visible green and brown brushstrokes suggests a public garden setting. Other figures appear to be sitting on a raised terrace or bridge over a stream, in the top left of the painting. 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).