Violent action did not attract him.

Whatever the subject, if it were possible to group the figures together at a moment when they were beautifully doing nothing, he did so.

But he liked still more to paint ideal scenes from his own fancy, where young people sit in easy attitudes upon the grass, conversing for an instant in the intervals of the music they make upon pipes and guitar.

He was the first artist, so far as I know, to paint these half real, half imaginary scenes, of which our picture may be one.

In all of them landscape bears an important part, and in some the background has become the picture and completely subordinated the figures.