François Bouche
French, 1703 – 1770
The Fountain, about 1730
Oil on canvas
21 11/16 x 25 15/16 in. (55.1 x 65.9 cm.)
27 3/4 x 32 1/4 x 1 7/8 in. (70.5 x 81.9 x 4.8 cm.) (frame)
Museum purchase, Mrs. Blakemore Wheeler Fund  1969.12

The Sincerest Form of Flattery
Boucher did not paint his landscapes and pastoral views from life, but rather relied on his own repertory of images gathered from many sources. Preliminary drawings for this painting reveal that Boucher copied the hen and strutting cockerel from a work by the Dutch artist Melchior de Hondecoeter.