Description
It is the apotheosis of the outdoor courtly Merry Company genre painting, and anticipates the French Fête champêtre type of the next century. The subject of this piece is common in Baroque paintings, which used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, and grandeur. Rubens uses multi-layer allegory and symbolism to his paintings.
Description
In this 6.5 ft x 9.4 ft piece, a large group of well-dressed persons in the style of the 17th century lounge about at the edge of an idyllic garden. Everyone is finely dressed, exercising their wealth and high class status. This demonstrates the depth of a full court scene in a recessional manner. Cupids interact with the individuals, bringing mythological figures into a realistic garden scene to produce a fantastical painting.
