Pastoral Music

In an oval picture, two figures lean close together on the grass against a backdrop of trees and blue sky. A woman in white leans on a man in a red jacket, and sheep and a dog gather around them. A straw hat also lies on the grass.

From around 1742, Boucher also began to produce small works that combined mythological painting with a pastoral taste. These placed mythological figures in woods or by water, with rest and play as their subject, and this work is considered a fine example. It depicts a nymph listening to a flute played by a shepherd, and its pendant, Pastoral Amusement, is also in the Tokyo Fuji Art Museum.

The fashion among the upper classes for dressing up as shepherds and peasants to enjoy pastoral games is also noted in connection with such pictures. Boucher became First Painter to Louis XV in 1765 and also served as drawing teacher to Madame de Pompadour.