Putti Making Music by François Boucher

Painted by the renowned artist François Boucher, this poetic and light-filled work is titled “Putti Making Music” within our catalog. Representative of the Rococo movement, it features playful allegories dear to the artist, embodying the liberal arts and celestial harmony. This refined composition evokes sweetness, innocence, and creativity within a misty atmosphere typical of the decorative Parisian interiors of the eighteenth century.

Three chubby, winged angels rest amid fluffy clouds under a delicate blue sky. In the center, one of them lies on his stomach, immersed in reading a large open music book. To his left, a companion holds a slender flute while carefully observing the sheet music, while on the right, a third cherub wields a writing quill, seated near a golden trumpet and paper scrolls. A white dove soars gracefully above them, adding a dynamic sense of movement to the whole. Garlands of pink roses and blue and gold silky draperies litter this airy scene, bathed in a soft, diffused light that caresses the milky skin of the infants.

The artist demonstrates here an admirable mastery of oil painting, materialized by the lightness of the clouds and the velvety skin of the children. The fluidity of the brushstrokes and the choice of a harmonious color palette highlight his genius for allegorical decors and his technique of incomparable finesse.