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Pastoral Concert

Date
c.1774–78
Classification
Prints
Current Location
Not on view
Dimensions
sheet (trimmed within platemark): 7 5/16 x 9 3/16 in. (18.6 x 23.3 cm)
Credit Line
Friends Endowment Fund
Rights
Public Domain
Object Number
148:1986
NOTES
François Boucher’s seductive interpretation of the pastoral is typified by this image of a young shepherd and his lover playing music in a secluded corner of the forest. Boucher’s influence on the fine and decorative arts of 18th-century France was aided by the work of printmaker Gilles Demarteau, who specialized in chalk‑manner etching, as seen here. This technique was invented in the 1750s to imitate the appearance of colored chalk drawings. Demarteau reproduced over 250 drawings by Boucher to make his compositions available to the wider public.

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