fête galante

American  

[fet ga-lahnt] / fɛt gaˈlɑ̃t /

noun

French.

plural

fêtes galantes

1. fête champêtre.

2. a representation, in art, of elegantly dressed groups at play in a rural or parklike setting.

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Example Sentences

Watteau invented the popular motif of the fête galante, or courtship party, but this is a strange, even somewhat disquieting example.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 20, 2017

This is an elegant book, with something of the stylized formality of a baroque opera or one of Watteau’s paintings of a fête galante.

From Washington Post • May 16, 2017

Watteau is credited with the creation of the 18th-century fête galante painting style, defined primarily by costumed figures flirting and cavorting in parklands.

From New York Times • Dec. 2, 2015

With tiny figures of people scattered along the sandy banks, it conveys a feeling of peaceful coexistence between man and nature similar to Watteau’s fête galante but more realistic.

From New York Times • Apr. 1, 2010

This buoyant exhibition looks at the rococo genre of the fête galante — 18th century, cotton candy-colored images of outdoor, countryside parties.

From New York Times • Dec. 10, 1458