François Boucher - Pastoral - Walters 37391

This composition was one of Boucher's earliest successes. At least two versions exist, and it also became known through an etching by Louis-Michel Halbou.
The young Boucher spent three years in Italy on a prestigious scholarship sponsored by the French Academy. Paintings like this one show the influence of 16th-century Venetian artists. Even the critic Denis Diderot, who later become Boucher's most outspoken enemy, had only praise for these early Italianate works, which he admired for their fresh colors and vigorous brushwork.