When Watteau was elected a member of the French Academy of Arts, a term was specially invented to describe the kind of painting for which he is now so well known and of which this is an excellent example - the fete galante.
Flirting coquettishly yet innocently, the artist's imaginary heroes - the deliberately indifferent lady and her insistently attentive cavalier - are shown with gentle irony, and the result is a warm and charming painting. The heroine is the embodiment of that piquancy and grace which were so characteristic of the delightful participants of such fetes galantes. Their fragile, elegant world is dominated by a lyrical mood with just a touch of elegaic melancholy.
The canvas dates from Watteau's late period and is a painted with virtuoso skill. The vibrant painting glows with complex nuances of colour and reflections of light.