Diana resting after her bath by François Boucher

The evocation of the pleasures of the hunt and rustic rest is harmoniously associated with the discreet eroticism of court art. Under the direction of the great master decorator François Boucher, the work temporarily designated “Diana resting after her bath” illustrates a moment of sacred relaxation. This Rococo painting is distinguished by its poetic treatment of the landscape and its staging of a complicit female intimacy. The work embodies an idealized vision of the mythological golden age, conducive to pastoral daydreaming.

Two nude young women rest by a fresh water spring at the edge of a dense forest. The main figure, crowned with pearls, is seated on a white drapery and a large ultramarine blue fabric sliding to the ground. Her companion, kneeling before her, gently wipes her ankle with a fine linen cloth. To the right, the spoils of the hunt, including dead birds and a hare, rest next to a bow and a quiver. On the left, two greyhounds drink calmly in the clear stream. The majestic trees form a protective canopy, letting filter a soft light that sculpts the milky bodies.

The exceptional craftsmanship of François Boucher is revealed in the delicacy of the silvery and pinkish nuances of the flesh. His ability to marry the rigor of the hunting still life with the fluid sensuality of the forest landscape shows remarkable technical maturity.