Divertissement

18th century

Five women, one man, and two children gather in a garden near a stone wall topped with an oversized urn in this vertical painting. The hues are muted, and the texture of the canvas is visible throughout. All the people have pale skin and blond or pale hair. The women wear dresses with long, voluminous skirts in shades of rose pink, canary yellow, olive green, and ivory white. One woman sits with her back to us as she faces a young, clean-shaven person. One stockinged leg extended to the right suggests that person is a man. The pair hold a boxy object, but details are difficult to make out. Another woman sits up on a bench to the left, and two more recline in the background near the left edge of the canvas. A woman plays a guitar-like instrument to the right, and two children sit on the grass in the lower left corner. The stone wall edges in from behind the musician along the right end and then turns ninety degrees away from us. Dark, spruce-green trees grow up behind the wall, and paler, celery green tree canopies line the left edge of the canvas. The sky is pale, watery blue.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on canvas

  • Credit Line

    Timken Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall: 32.2 x 25.3 cm (12 11/16 x 9 15/16 in.)
    framed: 52.7 x 43.2 x 5.7 cm (20 3/4 x 17 x 2 1/4 in.)

  • Accession

    1960.6.15


Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Possibly Heirrer. William R. Timken [1866-1949], New York; by inheritance to his widow, Lillian Guyer Timken [1881-1959], New York; bequest 1960 to NGA.

Associated Names

Bibliography

1985

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 27, repro.

2009

  • Conisbee, Philip, et al. French Paintings of the Fifteenth through the Eighteenth Century. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 2009: 481, repro.

Wikidata ID

Q20177699


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