A village landscape with villagers dancing to the bagpipes

Born in Antwerp, Fouquier was recorded as a master in the Antwerp guild of Saint Luke in 1614. By 1616 he was in Brussels, moving to Heidelberg soon after, where he worked for the Elector of the Palatinate. From about 1620 he worked in Paris and Toulon, where in 1626 he was employed by Louis XIII, who later ennobled him, to paint townscapes for the Louvre (a project in which he later competed with Poussin). Other projects included a series of landscapes in 1641/2 for the Grand Galerie of the Louvre, but generally his paintings are quite rare. The present picture would seem to date from his French period, showing as it does a subtle mix of Flemish and French influences and his characteristically vibrant colouring. Fouquier's most famous pupil was Philippe de Champaigne.