2-645-974 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

'A Fete Champetre', (Pastoral Gathering), 18th century, (1910). The Fete champetre was a popular form of entertainment in the 18th century, taking the form of a garden party. Particularly popular at the French court in the gardens of Versailles. Jean-Antoine Watteau (1684-1721) is known for his lyrical depictions of well-bred gentlemen and ladies engaged in intimate conversation and music making in park-like settings, which came to define the opulent and refined atmosphere of the early Rococo period in France. From The Connoisseur Vol XXVII. [Otto Limited, London, 1910]