807 - G. Alberti, gallant scene in boudoir, gentleman with wig and maid with duster, grisaille

G. Alberti, gallant scene in boudoir, gentleman with wig and maid with duster, grisaille Oil on panel, signed lower right, inscribed verso, grisaille painting, gallant scene in an interior, a gentleman with wig, lace jabot and knee breeches turns towards a maid with bonnet who holds a duster in her hand, in the background another woman with bonnet in front of a curtain below a painting with amoretti, on the right a vase with flowers on a chest of drawers, condition commensurate with age, scratches with paint loss, incipient craquelure, image 33x22.5 cm (HxW), framed, frame chipped, frame width 8.5 cm Grisaille is painting in shades of grey, occasionally also in shades of brown or green, whose name goes back to the French word for grey. It served as underpainting, as a model for copper engravers and also for independent works. The Rococo, named after the rocaille, emerged in France from about 1710/20 and had spread across Europe by circa 1730. Its painting was characterised by gallant, erotically tinged scenes such as pastoral pieces and fêtes galantes; the leading French painters include Watteau, Boucher and Chardin.