Artwork
Scene from La Fontaine's Fable 'The Mare of Peasant Pierre'
Scene from La Fontaine's Fable 'The Mare of Peasant Pierre' is an oil painting by the Rococo painting artist Pierre Subleyras. It dates from 1732 and is held in the collection of the Hermitage Museum.
About this work
Overview
The composition shows a woman in a white dress seated on a yellow cloth while a man, dressed in a brown coat and white hat, leans forward to paint her leg.
Created in 1732 by the French painter Pierre Subleyras, this oil on canvas illustrates a scene drawn from Jean de La Fontaine’s fable about the peasant Pierre’s mare. The composition shows a woman in a white dress seated on a yellow cloth while a man, dressed in a brown coat and white hat, leans forward to paint her leg. The setting is dimly lit, with vague forms receding into a dark background, lending the work a quiet, intimate atmosphere.
Subject & Meaning
The narrative references La Fontaine’s moral tale, in which a peasant’s mare is the object of a deceptive bargain. Subleyras translates the story into a domestic moment: the act of painting the woman’s leg suggests themes of observation, vulnerability, and the exchange of labor. The juxtaposition of clothed and nude elements underscores the fable’s commentary on appearance versus reality.
Technique & Style
Executed in oil, the painting displays the delicate brushwork and pastel palette typical of the Rococo period, yet retains the compositional clarity associated with early Neoclassicism. Subleyras renders the figures with soft modeling and subtle chiaroscuro, allowing the white dress and the yellow cloth to stand out against the muted, shadowy backdrop. The careful handling of light creates a sense of depth while preserving an intimate focus on the central figures.
History & Provenance
After its completion in Rome, where Subleyras spent much of his career, the work entered the collection of the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg. It has remained in the Hermitage’s holdings, where it is displayed as part of the museum’s European painting collection, offering insight into the cross‑cultural artistic exchanges between France and Italy in the early eighteenth century.
Context
Subleyras worked at a time when the ornate frivolity of the Rococo was giving way to the more restrained classicism that would dominate the later eighteenth century. This painting exemplifies that transitional moment, combining a light, decorative surface with a narrative drawn from a well‑known literary source, reflecting the period’s interest in moralizing stories rendered with elegant visual appeal.
Artist & collection
Artist
Pierre Subleyras (French: ; November 25, 1699 – May 28, 1749) was a French painter, active during the late-Baroque and early-Neoclassic period, mainly in Italy.
