Fishing was painted by François Boucher in 1767-01-01.

Where can I see Fishing?

Fishing is held by Palace of Versailles.

What movement is Fishing?

Fishing is associated with Rococo painting.

Artwork

Fishing

François Boucher , 1767

Fishing is an oil painting by the Rococo painting artist François Boucher. It dates from 1767 and is held in the collection of the Palace of Versailles.

About this work

The piece is part of the collection at the Palace of Versailles, where many of his works are displayed.

Fishing is an oil painting made by French artist François Boucher in 1767. It shows a quiet scene of people by water, typical of his lighthearted subjects. Boucher worked in the Rococo period, so the work has a playful feel even without dramatic drama.

The piece is part of the collection at the Palace of Versailles, where many of his works are displayed. If you enjoy this, you might also want to look up the museum Palace of Versailles today.

Subject & Meaning

François Boucher's Fishing (1767) depicts a recreational fishing scene featuring a man, woman, and child gathered near a tree. The composition includes specific elements such as a fishing rod, a basket, and flowers, framing the activity as a leisurely pastime rather than a laborious pursuit. As a genre painting executed in the Rococo style, the work illustrates a domestic moment of family interaction centered on the act of angling.

The inclusion of flora and the relaxed posture of the figures suggest an idyllic, pastoral setting typical of the artist's approach to genre subjects. The painting represents the 18th-century French appreciation for simple, rural pleasures and family life.

Technique & Style

Executed in oil on canvas in 1767, the work measures 150 × 188 cm and belongs to the Rococo style.

The composition is a genre scene centered on leisure fishing, rendered with Boucher's characteristic soft modeling and pastel palette. Figures are arranged in a gentle diagonal across the foreground, their silhouettes softened by feathery foliage and dappled light. The handling emphasizes fluid brushwork and delicate transitions rather than sharp contour, aligning with mid‑eighteenth‑century French academic practice.

The canvas remains in the collection of the Grand Trianon, Versailles, and is cataloged as MV 7096 (INV 2721; MR 1218).

History & Provenance

Fishing (La Pêche à la ligne) is an oil on canvas painting executed by the French Rococo artist François Boucher in 1767. The work measures 150 by 188 centimeters. It currently resides in the collection of the Palace of Versailles, specifically located within the Grand Trianon.

The painting holds the inventory numbers MV 7096, INV 2721, and MR 1218 within the French national museum system. In April 2016, the artwork was selected as one of the ten greatest artistic works of France for the Europeana 280 project.

The work is listed in the Joconde inventory as MV 7096, INV 2721, and MR 1218. It has been exhibited in Europeana 280 and featured in the 1990 publication by Pierre Lemoine on the Palace of Versailles and its domains.

Context

Fishing (La pêche à la ligne) is situated within the mature Rococo output of François Boucher, whose career bridged the court of Louis XV and the decorative programmes of the royal palaces. The work belongs to a body of pastoral and genre scenes that defined the lighter, decorative idiom of mid-eighteenth-century French painting. Held at the Grand Trianon in Versailles, it forms part of the museum and national-domain ensemble catalogued by Pierre Lemoine in the 1990 guide to Versailles and Trianon, situating the canvas within the institutional heritage of the former royal residences.

In April 2016, the painting was selected as one of ten representative masterpieces of France by the Europeana 280 project, an attribution that placed it within a curated transnational canon of European art and brought its Rococo pastoral subject matter into wider public discussion.

Legacy

The 1767 painting Fishing by François Boucher has come to symbolize the decorative elegance of French Rococo art, influencing later genre scenes that blend leisure with refined composition. Contemporary scholarship notes its prominent display in the Grand Trianon, where it contributes to the site's reputation as a showcase of aristocratic pastimes, and its inclusion in major surveys such as Europeana's 2016 ranking of France's ten most significant artworks, underscoring its enduring cultural resonance.

Overview

François Boucher’s 1767 oil painting titled Fishing presents a modest genre scene set beside water. The composition includes a basket, a fishing line, and a rod, suggesting a tranquil pastime. Executed during the height of the Rococo period, the work resides in the collection of the Palace of Versailles, where it is displayed among other pieces by the artist.