Summer, Hunting Picnic

This picture belongs to the set of four paintings decorating the walls of the Sala das Merendas, the royal family’s private dining-room. It is a representation of the hunting picnics at which ladies and gentlemen used to sit together informally on the ground, in what is a possible allegory to the seasons of the year. In view of the costumes and attitudes of the characters depicted, as well as the surrounding countryside, this painting appears to be alluding to Summer.