Franz Christoph Janneck, Elegant Company Feasting On A Terrace. Estimate $30,000–50,000.
Franz Christoph Janneck, Elegant Company Feasting On A Terrace. Estimate $30,000–50,000.
Music Making and Revelry
Music became an important element of the fête galante scenes. Guests arrived in ball gowns and costumes to dance, feast and celebrate life. Music added a much-needed theatrical element to these festivities and at times certain figures from the commedia dell'arte would be depicted, as in Watteau’s
Mezzetin
in the
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
. Although one cannot hear the music, the instruments suggest rhythm and movement within the scene.
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Elegantly Attired Ladies and Gentlemen
Most often the figures in Watteau’s fête galante are opulently dressed. This indulgence and interest in silk raiment is apparent in Janneck’s painting as well, and is further enhanced by the intricate jewelry that adorns his sitters, and which indicates their wealth. The looseness of the cloth, which lyrically drapes across the figures, suggests the whimsy and frivolousness that defined the Rococo age.
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The Great Outdoors?
Rococo Art often depicted intimacy and personal pleasures in harmony with nature. The lush green landscape on the upper right of this painting suggests that life now has moved away from the court into a rural, private setting. Many such decadent parties took place in private houses in the outskirts of the country, nevertheless the gardens are pictured with an element of fantasy, appearing idyllic, almost mythological. This connection between reality and a fantasized setting was originally developed by Watteau, who in turn was looking at Arcadian landscapes from the Dutch Golden Age for inspiration.
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Love and Excess…
Here is a gentleman who gently caresses the face of a seated lady while nursing a full glass with his other hand. His rosy visage perhaps suggests the excitement of the courtship, as the lady appears responsive to his advances. Just as easily, it could also indicate the his inebriated state, as these celebrations were known to be excessively indulgent. The game of seduction and playfulness of love takes center stage in such scenes and is mirrored between other figures throughout the composition.
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Art Within Art
This rendering of a decorative wall fresco appears to show Danaë, the princess that Zeus impregnated in form of golden rain. This representation of the scene, which is reminiscent of the multiple versions Titian made, is testament to Janneck's innate artistic skill. Meanwhile, Danaë's affair with Zeus seems to foreshadow where the evening may lead for the sitters in this intimate scene.
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Exquisite Details
Inspired by the meticulous intricacy of Dutch Golden Age paintings, Janneck depicts innumerable details in this still life set upon the table. Renderings of plants and food in Dutch compositions were intended as momento mori, or reminders of decay and death, while such luminous silverware would be intended as a sobering reminder of the fleeting pleasure of earthly riches to the eternal soul. Such messages are flouted in this composition and are used instead to emphasize life's brevity and the importance of pleasure.
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Austrian Rococo painter Franz Christoph Janneck's sumptuous fête galante Elegant Company Feasting On A Terrace is a fascinating scene that takes inspiration from a variety of sources. Many of the painting's narrative details reflect the influence of Antoine Watteau, the leading painter of the French Rococo, while the lavish scene's acute attention to detail is reminiscent of the Leiden Fijnschilders school of painter of the 17th and early 18th century. A conversation piece, or informal group portrait, Elegant Company Feasting On A Terrace embodies the qualities that made Janneck so renowned and will lead Sotheby's upcoming Old Master Online auction. Click ahead to explore the arresting details of this intricate scene.