In 1717, Jean Antoine Watteau, a
struggling French artist living in Paris in the
18th century, submitted his painting “The Embarkation for Cythera” to
the French Royal Academy
under consideration for membership. The image was so well received that instead
of the one year membership he had hoped to receive, he was given permanent
entry to the Academy. On top of this great honor, the Academy had to create a
new genre to describe his style of paintings.
This new style of painting was, and
still is today, called a fête galante. This
style consists of a mixture of history painting (which was at the top
of the
hierarchy of art, according to the Academy) and genre painting
(which was much lower), and was pioneered Watteau. He spent most of his
working life in Paris where he painted these scenes, and quickly gained recognition for his works. Watteau created this style of work in his desire to both
achieve recognition
by the French Academy but to also be able to include
elements of Dutch genre painting which Watteau was well practiced at.
So, what exactly is a fête galante?
The fête galante, which in French means "gallant party", primarily is an erotic-seeking image. In the
traditional genre painting, anything from fruits or vegetables, shop keepers
and shepardesses or various animals could be interpreted as a symbol regarding
sexual tension or pleasure. But the fête
galante is devoid of these allusions which were so popular in the typical
genre scene. Instead, we see couples actively engaged in the pursuit of love. Colin
B. Bailey describes the scenes in his book The Age of
Watteau, Chardin, and Fragonard: Masterpieces of French Genre Painting as lovers engaged in both modest and not so modest activities set in whimsical landscapes, parks,
and gardens. He also points out that these figures bore witness to the extreme
popularity of the masquerades and balls that were so popular in France during
Watteau’s time.
Of
course, while Watteau’s images
were a play on real life, they were in no way an accurate
representation of these gatherings that were so popular. These events
were
held at night and the participants were masked, while in the
paintings they are
shown to be unmasked and out in the broad daylight, in a place where
it seems
to be perpetually spring or summer, in an almost ethereal,
nonexistent setting.
Perhaps adding to the surrealistic quality of a fête galante is the inclusion of classical figures and architecture
hidden behind lush vegetation. In Watteau’s “Embarkation for Cythera”,
for example, the party embarking upon the unearthly island is accompanied by a
plethora of putti figures and is greeted at the top of the hill by a Venus
statue.
The fête galante always includes a
wonderful mixture of all sorts of people. We have aristocrats, peasants, people
in theater garb and others. Watteau had spent some time before his acceptance
into the French Academy working for the Italian Commedia dell'Arte (and
its French imitators), where he painted the theatrical scenes he saw. You can
see in Watteau’s diverse characters this influence remained with him throughout
his career. Watteau’s works also include a careful consideration for costuming, which
was so meticulous that his images can in fact be used as a reference for 18th century fashions.
Some other painters of the fête galante
Watteau’s popular style soon caught on with other artists. Many tried to imitate Watteau’s
fête galante paintings, but nearly
all failed to capture the same mood and elegance that Watteau’s had. Nonetheless, this style of painting in the 18th century was quite
fashionable and thusly, Watteau’s followers enjoyed a steady stream of
clientele.
Nicolas Lancret
Although trained as an engraver, Lancret
enjoyed great success as a painter of the fête
galante, especially after the death of Watteau. Unlike Watteau, whose
patrons were members of the wealthy middle class, Lancret enjoyed the patronage
of the aristocracy. Louis XV himself often requested works of Lancret’s in this
style for decoration of many royal residences, including The Palace at Versailles. His subject
matter, of course, was of people in ethereal settings in the pursuit of love,
but his colour palette is unlike his predecessors. Although including the pastels
typical of the time, Lancret also uses vivid colours, such as
brilliant greens, deep reds, and radiant blues.
Jean-Baptiste Pater
Pater studied briefly under Watteau
until Watteau’s difficult temperament lead to their parting. Later the two of
them reconciled, and Pater worked for several of Watteau’s clients. Pater was
of course influenced by Watteau, but he was also influenced by Flemish art.
Pater used compositions, costumes, and settings inspired by Watteau, but instead
of the delicate romancing of couples and poetic mood which Watteau was so
skilled at obtaining, we see a blatant joviality in the couples.