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Children at Play in the Open

Nicolas Lancret1705-1743

SMK - Statens Museum for Kunst

SMK - Statens Museum for Kunst
Copenhagen, Denmark

The beginning of the 18th century saw the introduction of a new genre within French painting, fêtes galantes or "elegant parties", which feigned to depict the aristocracy and their ritualised social gatherings, pastimes, and courting. Several later painters adopted elements from the genre but combined it with more rustic settings and characters, thereby creating more everyday-like scenes.

A depiction of children playing

At first glance, Lancret’s depiction of children playing looks like an everyday scene, but it also holds allusions to the codified diversions of the upper classes. The children are well-dressed, and the fragment of architecture to the right suggests that they are frolicking in one of those parks that were often the settings of the aforementioned elegant parties. The picture also contains traces of the subtle erotic allusions typical of the genre in the game played by the four girls with the adolescent boy in their midst.

The girls playing, the boy trying to conquer

The objective of the game is for the person in the middle to conquer a place from one of the four opponents in the four corners. Here, the boy’s attempts at making his first conquest are frustrated by the girls’ teasing gestures and secret signs. The younger children in the background are still too young to play the game and are having the rules explained to them by a slightly older boy.

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  • Title: Children at Play in the Open
  • Creator: Nicolas Lancret
  • Creator Lifespan: 1690 Paris - 1743 Paris
  • Creator Nationality: French
  • Creator Gender: Male
  • Creator Death Place: Paris
  • Creator Birth Place: Paris
  • Date Created: 1705-1743
  • Værktekst: Ved 1700-tallets begyndelse introduceredes en ny genre i fransk maleri, fêtes galantes, "galante fester", som gav indtryk af at skildre aristokratiets ritualiserede samvær, tidsfordriv og kurmageri. Flere efterfølgende malere overtog elementer fra genren, men tilførte den et præg af folkelivsskildring, så den mere fik karakter af fremstillinger af hverdagssituationer. Fremstilling af børneleg Lancrets fremstilling af børneleg ligner umiddelbart et optrin fra hverdagen, men den rummer også hentydninger til overklassens kodificerede tidsfordriv. Børnene er velklædte og arkitekturfragmentet til højre antyder, at de befinder sig i en af de slotsparker, hvor de galante fester ofte finder sted. Der findes desuden reminiscenser af de subtile og underspillede erotiske hentydninger fra genren i de fire pigers leg med den endnu ikke voksne mand i deres midte. Motivet Legen går ud på, at personen i midten skal forsøge at erobre en plads fra en af de fire modspillere i de omgivende fire hjørner. Drengens forsøg på at gøre sin første erobring frustreres her af pigernes drillende fagter og indforståede indbyrdes tegn. De yngre børn i baggrunden, som endnu er for unge til at lege legen, får dens regler forklaret af en lidt ældre dreng.
  • Teknik: Olie på træ
  • Proveniens: Gave fra Dansk Kunstmuseumsforening med bidrag fra Ny Carlsbergfondet 1931
  • Provenance: Acquired 1931
  • Physical Dimensions: w32.5 x h27 cm (Without frame)
  • Dansk link: http://www.smk.dk/index.php?id=1159
  • Dansk Titel: Legende børn i det frie. ("Le jeu des quatre-coins")
  • Type: Painting
  • Rights: Statens Museum for Kunst, http://www.smk.dk/en/copyright/creative-commons/
  • Medium: Oil on panel
SMK - Statens Museum for Kunst

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