Nicaise

Nicaise from 1738 by Nicolas Lancret illustrates a tale from La Fontaine's Contes—the bawdy comic stories that provided Rococo painters with subjects combining narrative wit with decorative elegance. The tale of Nicaise, a simple-minded peasant outwitted in love, gave Lancret an opportunity to combine his characteristic fête galante atmosphere with a more explicitly comic narrative register. Lancret was among the most skilled followers of Watteau's fête galante idiom, developing it into a commercially successful style that appealed to aristocratic patrons seeking decorative paintings for their private apartments. The small scale of the oil on copper support—a medium that allowed jewel-like color saturation and fine detail—suited the intimate, cabinet-picture register of the La Fontaine illustrations. The work is held at the Clark Art Institute and demonstrates Lancret's ability to sustain decorative elegance while conveying the gentle comic irony of his literary source.

The literary scene is rendered with Lancret's characteristic combination of narrative clarity and decorative charm. His bright palette and fluid brushwork create an atmosphere of refined amusement appropriate to La Fontaine's sophisticated comedy.