A Humorous Tale 

Vittorio Reggianini painted A Humorous Tale, an oil on canvas, most likely in Paris, France. The Belle Époque was in full swing, with the bourgeoisie enjoying unprecedented financial prosperity. Reggianini here is a modern day apologist for Rococo painting in the manner of Jean-Honoré Fragonard. It’s an art that revives the pleasures and fashions of the French court of Louis XV. The painting presents an image of the leisured class, whose only concern is amusing themselves with lighthearted stories, flirtation, and wit. These interiors, with their gilded surfaces, precious ornaments, and fashionable costumes, provide a fantasy world of entertainment, even of decadence. Reggianini’s art offers a sanitised version of the Ancien Régime, as if oblivious to the social inequality on which its comforts depended. The value we place on art changes as the social structures change. Research into popular magazines of the time and government archives can teach us more about its changing role in society.