1718 · National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh

Antoine Watteau brought the fte galante to its highest point when he created a mysterious, melancholy, dreamlike world populated by well-dressed people who flirt and play gracefully in parklike surroundings. The pastoral setting emphasizes the essential innocence and spontaneity of the participants, who are unafflicted by the stiffness imposed by the conventions of formal society. Eroticism is subtly rather than openly expressed.Show more