Rustic decor, elegant young people and re!ined leisure pursuits: the 2015-16 winter exhibition at the Louvre-Lens celebrates the genre of the Fête galante and the Pastorale. 

Popularised in the first half of the 18th century, first by Antoine Watteau, then by François Boucher, these themes achieved great success un- til the French Revolution. First adopted by painters, they spread quickly to other disciplines – in particular the Decorative arts – and became widespread throughout Europe. Thanks to exceptional loans from the Louvre Museum and around twenty prestigious institutions, this exhibition is able to bring together 220 works. 

The bucolic design of the exhibition combines paintings, graphic arts, furniture, ceramics, tapes- tries and stage costumes. From the roots to the latest developments, the exhibition traces the fortunes of a delicate, seductive genre, which enchanted Europe in the Age of Enlightenment. A tribute to French taste and the joy of living!