Artwork
Noce de Village (Village Wedding)
Noce de Village (Village Wedding) is an ink print by the Romanticist artist Charles-Melchior Descourtis. It dates from 1785 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1785, Noce de Village (Village Wedding) is a print by French artist Charles‑Melchior Descourtis. Executed in a wash manner, the work employs three colored inks—ochre, red and blue—applied to paper to depict a communal celebration. The composition captures a rustic interior where villagers gather for a wedding feast, offering a snapshot of eighteenth‑century rural life.
Subject & Meaning
A bride, dressed in a plain white gown, sits formally while male guests raise cups in toasts and female participants converse nearby.
The scene centers on a modest barn‑like hall filled with wooden tables and illuminated by warm lamps. A bride, dressed in a plain white gown, sits formally while male guests raise cups in toasts and female participants converse nearby. The arrangement emphasizes communal participation and the social rituals surrounding marriage in a provincial setting, highlighting both festivity and the structured roles of participants.
Technique & Style
Descourtis achieved depth through layered applications of ochre, red, and blue inks, allowing tonal variations that suggest volume and atmosphere. Cross‑hatching defines shadowed areas, creating texture that mimics the tactile quality of the wooden interior. The wash manner—characterized by fluid ink spreads—combined with precise line work results in a print that balances softness with detailed delineation.
History & Provenance
The print was produced in the late eighteenth century, a period when French printmakers increasingly explored genre scenes of everyday life. While specific ownership records are scarce, the work has been catalogued among Descourtis’s extant prints and appears in several collections of French prints from the era, reflecting its continued relevance to scholars of rural genre imagery.
Artist & collection
Artist
Charles-Melchior Descourtis (1753–1820) was a French artist, born in Paris.
