FEMALE NARRATOR:
The mood in this small panel by Jean-Baptiste Pater is sensual and refined. With quick, airy brushstrokes Pater depicts a group of young courtiers at an outdoor gathering. To the left, a beautiful young women begins a graceful dance, tilting her head coquettishly and turning her back on the young bagpiper in red. The other woman, in a magnificent white skirt and blue corset, looks pensively on.
Romantic adventure and leisurely pleasures were favorite subjects in 18th -century art and literature. Scenes like this were known as “fêtes champêtres,” or rustic parties, showing flirtatious youths in idealized park-land settings. Figures appear in fashionable dress—and sometimes historical costume—revealing the era’s love of the theater and masquerade.
We don’t know exactly what is going on in this painting … perhaps a competition—or at least a romantic rivalry—between the dancer and the young lady in white. Until the mid-18th century, subjects like this were considered inferior to themes from mythology, history, or the Bible. But during the Enlightenment, scenes of everyday life emerged as a serious subject for art. Popular with both elite collectors and the general public, today they offer fascinating glimpses into the life of the well-to-do in 18th century France.
Details
- Artist Name: Bonaventure de Bar (French, 1700-1729)
- Title: Fete Champetre
- Date: c. 1725
- Medium: Oil on panel
- Dimensions: 7-7/8 x 10-3/4 in. (20.0 x 27.3 cm)
- Credit Line: The Norton Simon Foundation
- Accession Number: F.1970.01.P
- Copyright: © The Norton Simon Foundation
Object Information
Jean-Antoine Gros (sale, Paris, Hôtel d'Aligre, 13 April 1778, lot 44, as one of two
pendant paintings by Bonaventure de Bar).
Morel collection (sale, 19 April 1786, later rescheduled for 3 May 1786, lot 150).
Artaud (sale, Paris, 15 November (and following days) 1791, lot 106, as one of two).
William, Earl of Lonsdale (sale, London, Christie's, 18 June 1887, lot 866, as Watteau, A Fête Champêtre, to);
[Thos. Agnew & Sons, London].
Edward Cecil Guinness (d. 1927), 1st Earl of Iveagh, County Down, Northern Ireland.
Arthur Ernest Guinness, D.L., Holmbury House, Holmbury St. Mary, Surrey, Estate (sale, London, Christie's, 10 July 1953, lot 67, as Pater, A Fête Champêtre, to);
[Arthur Tooth & Sons, London].
[Thos. Agnew & Sons, London; sold October 1953 to];
[M. Knoedler & Co., Inc., New York; jointly owned with Pinakos, Ltd., New York; stock no. A5467; sold 2 April 1960 to];
Valerian Stuy-Rybar; sold 1963 to;
[M. Knoedler & Co., Inc., New York; stock no. A8543; sold 20 May 1964 to];
Henry T. Mudd, Los Angeles.
[Richard L. Feigen & Co., New York; sold 1970 to];
The Norton Simon Foundation.
pendant paintings by Bonaventure de Bar).
Morel collection (sale, 19 April 1786, later rescheduled for 3 May 1786, lot 150).
Artaud (sale, Paris, 15 November (and following days) 1791, lot 106, as one of two).
William, Earl of Lonsdale (sale, London, Christie's, 18 June 1887, lot 866, as Watteau, A Fête Champêtre, to);
[Thos. Agnew & Sons, London].
Edward Cecil Guinness (d. 1927), 1st Earl of Iveagh, County Down, Northern Ireland.
Arthur Ernest Guinness, D.L., Holmbury House, Holmbury St. Mary, Surrey, Estate (sale, London, Christie's, 10 July 1953, lot 67, as Pater, A Fête Champêtre, to);
[Arthur Tooth & Sons, London].
[Thos. Agnew & Sons, London; sold October 1953 to];
[M. Knoedler & Co., Inc., New York; jointly owned with Pinakos, Ltd., New York; stock no. A5467; sold 2 April 1960 to];
Valerian Stuy-Rybar; sold 1963 to;
[M. Knoedler & Co., Inc., New York; stock no. A8543; sold 20 May 1964 to];
Henry T. Mudd, Los Angeles.
[Richard L. Feigen & Co., New York; sold 1970 to];
The Norton Simon Foundation.
Les Fêtes Galantes
- Richmond, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 1956-01-20 to 1956-03-05
- Masterpieces from the Norton Simon Museum,1989, p. 89
- Montreal, Museum of Fine Arts, Héritage de France: French Paintings 1610-1760,no. 58 p. 128
- Campbell, Sara, Collector Without Walls: Norton Simon and His Hunt for the Best,2010, cat. 712 p. 330
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