Dreaming Shepherdess

Pastoral scenes - so-called pastorale - were typical of French painting under Louis XV. They developed from the “fêtes galantes” of Antoine Watteau, who depicted courtiers disporting themselves in park-like landscapes, and from the “fêtes champêtres” - the rural festivals of Jean-Baptiste Pater, who combined court and country life. Boucher was the first to create high-quality pastorale, laying down the standards for the genre and showing idealised scenes from the love life of amorous shepherds and shepherdesses.