The Country Dance

Watteau invented the fête galante, a type of painting depicting elegant ladies and gentlemen socializing in pastoral settings. In this example, a couple dances to the sound of a hurdy-gurdy in a forest clearing. Dancing, a metaphor of love and courtship, plays a central role in many of Watteau’s fêtes galantes. A striking feature of the painting is the roundel containing the figures, which is set into a rectangular wood panel. The area surrounding the roundel was added later, probably between 1715 and 1731.