'La Furlana': Peasants dancing and merrymaking outside a Tavern

Longhi treated the present subject on a number of occasions often repeating the figure of the ballerina, but always varying the company and setting in which she performs (see, for instance, those in the Ca'Rezzonico, Venice, Inv. no. 1314, and the Pinacoteca Querini Stampalia, Venice). In this lively popular dance, which originated from Friuli, the spectators watch as local musicians set the rhythm for the dance. As it dictates, the young ballerina lifts her skirts in the lightest of curtsies and engages the young dandy in the formality of the movement.

In a Venetian 18th Century carved giltwood frame.