One of Boucher’s most ambitious works in the pastoral mode, inspired by the theatrical characters of the immensely popular pantomimes of his friend, Charles-Simon Favart. At the Opéra Comique, where Boucher was both set designer and a keen member of the audience, Favart’s piquant musical dramas combined the Arcadian idealism and aristocratic sensibilities of pastoral poetry with the rustic, sentimental characters of popular theatre. Here we see a recreation of scene VI of Favart’s pantomime 'Les Vendanges de Tempé' ('The Harvest in the Vale of Tempe'), where the amorous Little Shepherd feeds grapes to the heroine, Lisette.