A Druids' Ceremony

Hallé was a pensionnaire at the French Academy in Rome from 1737 to 1744 and this work was probably painted during his stay there. The subject is not in fact a real druid’s ceremony, but one of the masquerades which were held in the grounds of the Palazzo Mancini, the main residence of the Academy until 1793. The painting is similar in style to the work of Jean-François de Troy who was then Director of the Academy and influenced Hallé's work. Hallé enjoyed a long and successful career and was himself appointed recteur of the French Academy in Rome in 1775.