Flageolet Players

Maker Matthew William Peters (British, 1742-1814)

ClassificationsPAINTINGS

Dateca. 1780's

Mediumoil on canvas

Dimensions65 3/4 x 50 1/2 in. (167 x 128.3 cm.)

DescriptionThis painting portrays a group of four including a man, a boy, and two women, full-length. The young woman sitting on the right is playing the flageolet. On her right is a boy who holds a flageolet in his right hand.

Credit LineThe Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens

Status

Not on view

Label TextDepictions of country life in which the customs of the poor are idealized for the pleasure of urban viewers were popular in Europe throughout the 18th century. In this scene, a seated male figure reaches toward a woman, who holds a simple flute, called a flageolet, to her mouth. In the bottom right corner, a wheel of cheese, knife, tin cup, and loaf of bread wrapped in a red scarf indicate that this merry party has put aside labor for a picnic supper.

Bibliography

British paintings at the Huntington

Object number21.3