Ladies in a garden

Panel representing ladies strolling in a garden. Integrating what has been called the Period of Grand Production, chronologically dated to the second quarter of the 18th century, this panel is an excellent example of a genre theme, in this case connected with a gallant living. The representation of the baroque garden with its fountains and orderly flowerbeds, a theme that is constant in the azulejos of this period, shows strolling people engaged in games of seduction and gallantry. However, this panel escapes the images we normally associate with baroque gardens, for within it we find only ladies who stroll and exchange confidences, but no men to disturb the tranquillity of the landscape and of the hearts within. This is a closed garden, an almost allegorically virginal space, bounded by a wall bearing flower pots, and a leafy wood in the distance extending along the horizon. The sumptuous fountain, similar to those engraved by Jean Lepautre (1618-1682), stands out, marking the space and the panel, as an authentic protagonist of the representation. Lisbon production.