The Country Dance Explained

The Country Dance
Other Language 1:French
Other Title 1:La Danse Champetre
Artist:Jean-Antoine Watteau
Year:c. 1706-1710
Type:Oil painting on canvas
Height Imperial:19.5
Length Imperial:23.625
Imperial Unit:in
Metric Unit:cm
City:Indianapolis
Museum:Indianapolis Museum of Art
Accession:74.98

The Country Dance is an oil painting by French artist Jean-Antoine Watteau, located in the Indianapolis Museum of Art, which is in Indianapolis, Indiana. Probably one of Watteau's earliest painting, created roughly 1706-1710, it depicts a group of quite courtly peasants dancing among the trees.

Description

Amid the trees, a group of villagers play music while a couple dances. A toddler copies the lady's motions, entertaining the company. Rather than the usual contemporary association with debauchery, music here alludes to social harmony and order. The musicians glance coyly at the viewer, actors very aware of their spectators. This sort of interaction is one of Watteau's hallmarks.[1]

It is an image of visual extremes: the dark forest background brings the peasants' bright clothing into sharp contrast. The rustic setting and the dancers' formal attire channel both the fête galante and a formal court celebration transplanted to a charming bit of countryside.[2]

Historical information

This is Watteau's earliest known painting, but already he had developed his own style. Painted shortly after he moved from Valenciennes to Paris, Watteau took the merry rustic scenes favored by his Flemish antecedents like Pieter Bruegel and Peter Paul Rubens, but gave them unprecedented grace, nobility, and style. Though painting a standard northern European subject, he drew heavily on Venetian landscapes, particularly in the atmospheric effects. It is, in effect, a declaration in favor of the Rococo movement with which Watteau would become so heavily associated.[3]

Acquisition

The Country Dance was acquired by the IMA in 1974, a gift of Mrs. Herman C. Krannert. It hangs in the Charles O. McGaughey Gallery and has the accession number 74.98.[3]

See also

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Lee. Ellen Wardwell. Robinson. Anne. Indianapolis Museum of Art: Highlights of the Collection. Indianapolis Museum of Art. Indianapolis. 2005. 0936260777.
  2. Book: Porter, Cecelia Hopkins. Five Lives in Music: Women Performers, Composers, and Impresarios from the Baroque to the Present. 2012. University of Illinois. Urbana, Illinois. 9780252037016.
  3. Web site: The Country Dance. Indianapolis Museum of Art. 31 January 2013.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "The Country Dance".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.