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Janneck Franz-Christoph (1703 - 1761)
Outdoor Dance, 1738
Oil on copper, 93 x 131 cm
Inv. Number
Π.3661
“Outdoor Dance”, of 1738, by Franz-Christoph Janneck (Graz 1703 – Vienna 1761), the leading Austrian exponent of Rococo, is a characteristic Rococo painting in the style of Jean Antoine Watteau (1684–1721), reminiscent of the latter artist’s fetes galantes, in which carefree parties of young people are casually enjoying themselves, flirting in the countryside.
This artwork was acquired by the National Gallery in 1967 with funds from the Alexandros Soutsos Estate.
A party of aristocrats are attending an outdoor feast in the gardens of a country mansion, or palace. In the middle of the composition, a pair of human figures, apparently the hosts, open the dance (week of 9 July), while women and men around them, clad in elegant countryside attire, talk, flirt, promenade. The colours used by Janneck are made even more vibrant set against the copper substrate which he commonly used in his paintings, as is the case for the painting in the National Gallery collection.