Gallantry  

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"It is the period of the Renaissance, the days when Europe resounds with the fame of our gallant King Francis I and his deeds of prowess in love and war, the days when Titian and Primaticcio were leaving behind on French palace walls immortal traces of their genius, when Jean Goujon was carving his admirable figures round the fountains of the Louvre and across its front, when Rabelais was uttering his stupendous guffaw, that was the Comedy of all human life, when Marot and Ronsard were writing their graceful stanzas, when the fair "Marguerite des Marguerites," the Queenly Pearl of Pearls, was telling her delightful tales of love and adventure in the Heptameron."--Henri Vigneau


"The French term galanterie slipped from its original meaning of courtly love in the Middle Ages to the amorous and jet set-like pursuits of the idle, rich aristocrats in the 18th century." --Sholem Stein


"All this sentimental masquerading and exaggerated gallantry suggests the vulnerable side of the Hotel de Rambouillet, and the side which its enemies have been disposed to make very prominent."--The Women of the French Salons (1891) by Amelia Gere Mason

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The French term galanterie refers to Medieval ideals of courage and chivalrous courtliness and politeness, especially towards women.

Galanterie, also known in English as gallantry developed into a European fashion prevalent from the second half of the 17th century until the early 18th century, largely coinciding with the baroque era. It was reflected in literature in the works of the female writers who called themselves the Précieuses in France, exemplified by Madeleine de Scudéry's Clelia. The genre was very popular in Germany with authors such as Menantes. Pierre Marteau published a book called La France Galante (1696).

Later, the French term galanterie slipped from its original meaning of courtly love in the Middle Ages to the amorous and jet-set-like pursuits of the idle, rich aristocrats in the 18th century.

A fête galante is a rich outdoor party in a paradisic setting. The term translates from French literally as "gallant party". It is closely related to, and may be considered a type of, fête champêtre.

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Etymology

From Old French galant (“courteous, dashing”), present participle of galer (“make merry”), thought to be from Frankish *wala- (“good, well”), from Proto-Germanic *wal-, from Proto-Indo-European *(e)welǝ- (“to choose, wish”).

Fête galante

fête galante

The term "fête galante" is used most often to refer to a genre of drawings and paintings depicting such parties from the 18th century. Fête galante paintings were done by people such as Antoine Watteau, Jean-Baptiste Pater, Jean François de Troy, Jean-Honoré Fragonard, Nicolas Lancret and Pierre Antoine Quillard.

Antoine Watteau specifically created the fête galante painting style as a compromise between two drives. On the one hand, most of his patronage came from private individuals, rather than from the government. On the other hand, Watteau wanted recognition from the government-appointed Académie des Beaux-Arts. The Académie ranked scenes of everyday life and portraits, the paintings most desired by private patrons, as lower than morally educational paintings illustrating history and mythology. By portraying his patrons in scenes reminiscent of the mythologized land of Arcadia, where humans had supposedly lived in leisurely harmony with nature, Watteau was able to get his paintings the highest ranking at the Académie and still flatter his buyers.

Féte galante paintings are an important part of the rococo period of art, which saw the focus of European arts move away from the hierarchical, standardized grandeur of the church and royal court and toward an appreciation for intimacy and personal pleasures. Nonetheless, the lush, outdoor settings of fête galante paintings were often mined from earlier paintings, especially from Venetian paintings of the 16th century and Dutch paintings of the 17th century.

In music

Galant (music)

In music, Galant was a term referring to a style, principally occurring in the third quarter of the 18th century, which featured a return to classical simplicity after the complexity of the late Baroque era. This meant (in some implementations) simpler music, with less ornamentation, decreased use of polyphony (with increased importance on the melody), musical phrases of regular length, a reduced harmonic vocabulary (principally emphasizing tonic and dominant), and a less important bass line. It was, in many ways, a reaction against the showy Baroque style. Probably the most famous composer in the Galant style was Johann Stamitz.

In literature

baroque literature, Schwulst

Gallantry was a fashion in Europe from the 16th century until the early 18th century. It was reflected in literature in the works of the female writers who called themselves the Précieuses in France, exemplified by Madeleine de Scudéry's Clelia. The genre was very popular in Germany with authors such as Menantes. Pierre Marteau published a book called La France Galante (1696).

Somewhat toning down the gallantry in gallant literature were Brantôme's memoirs Vie des dames galantes (1665-1666).

See also




Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Gallantry" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.

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