Le Galant Pecheur
Summary
In this fine late landscape by Boucher, a young man fishes in the river, watched by a young woman and a girl. A thatched cottage nestles in the woods on the opposite bank, while on the left there is a rustic tower in a picturesque state of dilapidation. A shepherd driving a cow and several sheep makes his way along the opposite bank - a motif derived from Dutch 17th century pastoral landscapes. The subject and its treatment are light-hearted and deliberately contrived. These are contented peasants amid charming rural dwellings, enhanced by a delicate palette of blues and greens. During the reign of Louis XV, Boucher was Director of the French Academy and Premier peintre du roi, as well as a friend and protégé of Mme de Pompadour. His work typifies the French Rococco, the style of choice of the sophisticated urban and courtly society of mid-18th-century Paris. Many of his paintings were intended as decorative schemes and he also designed tapestries for the theatre.
Object Name
Le Galant Pecheur
Creators Name
Date Created
1768
Dimensions
unframed: 49.5cm x 64.7cm
framed: 67.4cm x 82cm
accession number
1981.60
Place of creation
France
Support
canvas
Medium
oil paint
Credit
Purchased with the assistance of the Victoria & Albert Museum Purchase Grant Fund and the National Art Collections Fund
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