Lovers in a Park

Lovers in a Park (1758), in the Timken Museum of Art, is a fête galante — the genre of outdoor aristocratic entertainment that Watteau invented and that Boucher adapted to his own more decorative sensibility. The elegant couple in a garden setting embodies the Rococo ideal of refined leisure, love as graceful social performance within an idealized natural setting. Boucher's version is more overtly decorative than Watteau's poetic originals, the garden rendered as a stage set for romantic encounter.

Boucher creates an idyllic bower of trees and flowers framing the elegant couple in a warm, decorative palette. The soft handling and flowing composition are characteristic of his mature Rococo style, with careful attention to the textures of silk and foliage.