J.-A. Duval Le Camus (1814-1878) - Fête Galante in a park, circa 1880

Signed J. Duval.L.C.

Dimensions with frame – Height : 157 cm (61,8 in.) ; Width : 170 cm (67 in.)

Large oval painting depicting a romantic gathering in a park on a sunny afternoon. The guests, seated in a circle on the grass, are enjoying the pleasant summer weather, glasses of wine in hand. Perhaps they are already tipsy, as suggested by a gentleman’s belongings carelessly abandoned in the foreground, the overturned glass and the proximity of the group with rosy cheeks, where each person is almost slumped against their neighbor. This revelry, however, is not permitted for the youngest among them: the child, drawn to the bunch of grape, a symbol of wine, is held back by his mother on the edge of the circle, who takes the fruit away from him. Not far behind flows a fountain where the next bottle is kept cool, ready to be brought by the attentive servants. A greyhound, a symbol of loyalty, looks away from the group, foreshadowing the events to come.

This painting follows in the pictorial tradition of “fêtes galantes,” a genre that emerged in France in the 18th century through the works of Watteau, Boucher, and Fragonard. The Age of Enlightenment was characterized by a liberation from social and moral constraints and from the rigors of etiquette; consequently, scenes depicting the good life, far removed from the austerity imposed by the court, were celebrated. Thus, the figures in our painting are all dressed in 18th-century fashion and wear wigs typical of the period.

The original gilded wooden frame adds to the work’s splendor: a garland of roses, daisies, fruits, and leaves, tied with a ribbon, extends the painting’s pastoral theme through a delightful interplay of volumes. The whole appears to be suspended by a pleated ribbon and bordered on either side by a frieze of pearls.

Biography :
Trained in the studio of his father, Pierre Duval Le Camus, and later a student at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, Jules-Alexandre Duval Le Camus (1814–1878) was a French painter. In 1838, he won the Prix de Rome in painting, and then exhibited at the Salon from 1840 through 1867. His specialty was religious painting, which was frequently featured at the Salon as well as in several churches in France where his works are still on display. He was also a major collector of drawings, which are now scattered among the world’s major museums.