Are They Thinking about the Grape? (Pensent-ils au raisin?)

1747

This painting is based on a 1745 pantomime about a young shepherd’s awakening love for a shepherdess. The couple feed each other grapes—a fruit associated with Bacchus, god of pleasure—suggesting that their encounter is not entirely chaste. François Boucher’s compositions on pastoral themes are his most influential contribution to 18th-century French art.

Public domain · CC0
Free to download and reuse. Image courtesy of Art Institute of Chicago.

Artist

François Boucher (French, 1703–1770)

Date

1747

Medium

Oil on canvas

Dimensions

Oval: 80.8 × 68.5 cm (31 3/4 × 27 in.); Framed: 96.6 × 84.5 × 11.5 cm (38 × 33 1/4 × 4 1/2 in.)

Origin

France

Collection

Art Institute of Chicago

Credit

Martha E. Leverone Endowment