French School, late 17th century
Gallant Scene in a Garden
Oil on wood panel

Unsigned. 23 x 18 inches (58 x 46 cm), the frame 30 x 25 inches (76 x 64 cm). Painted wood frame. Panel sound, the joint between the two boards open with paint loss along it.

The garden is a plan seen from above. The parterre at the lower right is drawn in flat geometry, beds, gravel and a fountain, while the couple beside it are painted in full relief.

A gentleman in a long grey coat and a full curled wig sits at the left, a folded paper in one hand, and holds out a red tulip toward a young woman in red. Her hair is dressed in tight curls at the temples with a ribbon, a string of pearls at her throat over a wide lace collar. A winged Cupid stands at their feet with a wreath and a basket of flowers. Behind them a brick tower rises against a pale sky, and the ground falls away to a wooded valley with a boat on the water and a distant range of hills.