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35-555: The Garter is an oil on canvas painting by French painter Jean-François de Troy , from 1724. It is held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art , in New York . A pendant painting to this one is The Declaration of Love , of the same year. The painting, like others by de Troy, is erotically charged, and depicts a scene of intimacy in a finely decorated room, between a couple, possibly of lovers that, judging by their fine clothing, are from

70-625: A fresco in the north aisle of the ancient basilica Santi Bonifacio ed Alessio depicting Saint Gerolamo Emiliani introducing orphans to the Virgin. His modern reputation relies less on his large history and mythological paintings than on his smaller, ( cabinet-sized ) scenes of elegant social life, which he painted in Paris between 1725 and 1738. These pictures depict fashionable people from his time in parks or interior settings who are engaged in courting, card playing, or reading to each other. While based on

105-463: A meditation on art and illusion. The scene is an art gallery where the façade has magically vanished, and the gallery and street in the canvas are fused into one contiguous drama. Watteau alarmed his friends by a carelessness about his future and financial security, as if foreseeing he would not live for long. In fact he had been sickly and physically fragile since childhood. In 1720, he travelled to London, England, to consult Dr. Richard Mead , one of

140-514: A new bourgeois class. They also reflected the developing taste for a new sensuality, which was taken even further during the second half of the 17th century in the libertine philosophy and in texts such as Les Liaisons dangereuses by Choderlos de Laclos and the Philosophy in the Bedroom by Marquis de Sade . Jean-François de Troy produced the designs for two sets of tapestries which were woven by

175-639: A one-year stay in Rome by winning the Prix de Rome from the Academy , but managed only to get awarded with the second prize. In 1712 he tried again and was persuaded by Charles de La Fosse that he had nothing to learn from going to Rome; thanks to Fosse he was accepted as an associate member of the Academy in 1712 and a full member in 1717. He took those five years to deliver the required " reception piece ", one of his masterpieces:

210-511: A period spent as a scene-painter, and in poor health, he found employment in a workshop at Pont Notre-Dame , making copies of popular genre paintings in the Flemish and Dutch tradition; it was in that period that he developed his characteristic sketchlike technique. His drawings attracted the attention of the painter Claude Gillot , and by 1705 he was employed as an assistant to Gillot, whose work, influenced by those of Francesco Primaticcio and

245-464: A purchaser, at the modest price of 60 livres , in a man called Sirois, the father-in-law of his later friend and patron Edme-François Gersaint , and was thus enabled to return to the home of his childhood. In Valenciennes he painted a number of the small camp-pieces, notably the Camp-Fire , which was again bought by Sirois, the price this time being raised to 200 livres. In 1709, Watteau tried to obtain

280-588: A quarrel with Gillot, Watteau moved to the workshop of Claude Audran III , an interior decorator , under whose influence he began to make drawings admired for their consummate elegance. Audran was the curator of the Palais du Luxembourg , and from him Watteau acquired his knowledge of decorative art and ornamental design. At the palace, Watteau was able to see the magnificent series of canvases painted by Peter Paul Rubens for Queen Marie de Medici . The Flemish painter would become one of his major influences, together with

315-403: A seated statuette of Saturn at his bottom, in a style similar to the work of the furniture designer André-Charles Boulle , stands in a bookshelf. Mary Salzman states about this painting: "In The Garter , the nude female statuette and the clock disclose that the young woman, though initially resistant, will allows herself to be seduced. She will eventually arrive at the same state of undress as

350-433: A sense of mystery and timelessness, de Troy's tableaux de mode were intended to provide a more realistic depiction of contemporary fashions, pastimes and manners. He was able to capture in these compositions the more relaxed behavior of the higher social classes following the death of Louis XIV in 1715 as shown in new fashions and manners. These compositions are believed to be based on de Troy's personal experiences as he

385-449: A series of engravings after his paintings, The Recueil Jullienne . The quality of the reproductions, using a mixture of engraving and etching following the practice of the Rubens engravers, varied according to the skill of the people employed by Jullienne, but was often very high. Such a comprehensive record was hitherto unparalleled. This helped disseminate his influence round Europe and into

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420-465: A successful career with his large-formate historical and allegorical compositions. His history paintings and mythological scenes were executed in a colourful and fluent style, which was indebted to both Veronese and Peter Paul Rubens . An example is his allegorical Time Unveiling Truth (1733, National Gallery, London ). During his residence in Rome, de Troy was also active as a fresco painter. He made

455-744: A theatrical air. Some of his best known subjects were drawn from the world of Italian comedy and ballet . Jean-Antoine Watteau was born in October 1684 in Valenciennes , once an important town in the County of Hainaut which became sequently part of the Burgundian and Habsburg Netherlands until its secession to France following the Franco-Dutch War . He was the second of four sons born to Jean-Philippe Watteau (1660–1720) and Michelle Lardenois (1653–1727), and

490-583: The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition , in part, "in his treatment of the landscape background and of the atmospheric surroundings of the figures can be found the germs of Impressionism ". His influence on later generations of painters may have been less apparent in France than in England, where J. M. W. Turner was among his admirers. A revived vogue for Watteau began in England during

525-454: The Shop-sign of Gersaint , exits the pastoral forest locale for a mundane urban set of encounters. Painted at Watteau's own insistence, "in eight days, working only in the mornings ... in order to warm up his fingers", this sign for the shop in Paris of the paintings dealer Edme François Gersaint is effectively the final curtain of Watteau's theatre. It has been compared with Las Meninas as

560-623: The British Regency , and was later encapsulated by the Goncourt brothers in France ( Edmond de Goncourt having published a catalogue raisonné in 1875) and the World of Art union in Russia. In 1984 Watteau societies were created in Paris, by Jean Ferré , and London, by Dr. Selby Whittingham. A major exhibition in Paris, Washington and Berlin commemorated the 1984 tercentenary of his birth. Since 2000

595-787: The Gobelins . Each set consists of seven tapestries. One recounts the Story of Esther (1737–40) and the other the Story of Jason (1743–46). The Story of Esther designs were so successful that they were woven eight times in the 18th century. The cartoons for the tapestries were exhibited to great acclaim. In his tapestry designs de Troy abandoned narrative clarity in favour of a profusion of picturesque and anecdotal detail and brilliant colour effects. Watteau Jean-Antoine Watteau ( UK : / ˈ w ɒ t oʊ / , US : / w ɒ ˈ t oʊ / , French: [ʒɑ̃ ɑ̃twan vato] ; baptised 10 October 1684 – died 18 July 1721)

630-569: The Palace of Versailles and the Palace of Fontainebleau between 1724 and 1737. In 1738 he left France for Rome following his appointment as Director of the French Academy in Rome . He resided the rest of his life in Rome. He was also elected as an honorary member of the Roman Academy of St Luke , and subsequently appointed briefly its director in 1744. De Troy was twice ennobled in his lifetime,

665-638: The Pilgrimage to Cythera , also called the Embarkation for Cythera . Watteau then went to live with the collector Pierre Crozat , who eventually on his death in 1740 left around 400 paintings and 19,000 drawings by the masters. Thus Watteau was able to spend even more time becoming familiar with the works of Rubens and the Venetian masters. He lacked aristocratic patrons ; his buyers were bourgeois such as bankers and dealers. Among his most famous paintings, beside

700-592: The Venetian masters that he would later study in the collection of his patron and friend, the banker Pierre Crozat . During this period Watteau painted The Departing Regiment , the first picture in his second and more personal manner, showing influence of Rubens, and the first of a long series of camp pictures. He showed the painting to Audran, who made light of it, and advised him not to waste his time and gifts on such subjects. Watteau determined to leave him, advancing as excuse his desire to return to Valenciennes. He found

735-456: The fêtes galantes of Watteau and Nicolas Lancret and on 17th-century Dutch genre painting, de Troy's compositions distinguish themselves through their detailed rendering of clothing and furnishings. The dress of the protagonists discloses their high social status. These tableaux de mode are also characterized by the meticulous handling of the paint and their luxurious and modish qualities. While Watteau's 'fête galantes' were filled with

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770-464: The school of Fontainebleau , represented a reaction against the turgid official art of Louis XIV 's reign. In Gillot's studio, Watteau became acquainted with the characters of the commedia dell'arte (which moved onto the théâtre de la foire following the Comédie-Italienne 's departure in 1697), a favorite subject of Gillot's that would become one of Watteau's lifelong passions. After

805-480: The bronze - starting with her garter." Jean-Fran%C3%A7ois de Troy He was the Director of the French Academy in Rome from 1738. He was a scion of a family of painters. His father was the portrait painter François de Troy (1645–1730). His father was his first teacher. After he failed to win the Prix de Rome , he went at his father's expense to Italy from 1699 to 1706. He stayed initially in Rome, where he

840-466: The concept of the individualistic artist loyal to himself, and himself alone". If his immediate followers, Lancret and Pater, would depict the unabashed frillery of aristocratic romantic pursuits, Watteau in a few masterpieces anticipates an art about art, the world of art as seen through the eyes of an artist. In contrast to the Rococo whimsicality and licentiousness cultivated by Boucher and Fragonard in

875-440: The decorative arts. Watteau's influence on the arts (not only painting, but the decorative arts , costume , film , poetry , music ) was more extensive than that of almost any other 18th-century artist. The Watteau dress , a long, sacklike dress with loose pleats hanging from the shoulder at the back, similar to those worn by many of the women in his paintings, is named after him. According to Konody's critical assessment in

910-526: The first time when he bought the office of the secrétaire du roi ('secretary to the King') and a second time on the award of the ordre de Saint Michel . According to contemporary reports he lived a luxurious life style in Rome and entertained guests from the higher social circles in Rome. De Troy met tragedy in his personal life: his wife died at a young age and his seven children all died before him. He died on 26 January 1752 in Rome. Jean François de Troy forged

945-757: The later part of Louis XV 's reign, Watteau's theatrical panache is usually tinged with a note of sympathy, wistfulness, and sadness at the transience of love and other earthly delights. Famously, the Victorian essayist Walter Pater wrote of Watteau: "He was always a seeker after something in the world, that is there in no satisfying measure, or not at all." Watteau was a prolific draftsman. His drawings, typically executed in trois crayons technique, were collected and admired even by those, such as count de Caylus or Gersaint, who found fault with his paintings. In 1726 and 1728, Jean de Jullienne published suites of etchings after Watteau's drawings, and in 1735 he published

980-423: The most fashionable physicians of his time and an admirer of Watteau's work. However, London's damp and smoky air offset any benefits of Dr. Mead's wholesome food and medicines. Watteau returned to France, spending six months with Gersaint, and then spent his last few months on the estate of his patron, Abbé Haranger, where he died in 1721, perhaps from tuberculous laryngitis, at the age of 36. The Abbé said Watteau

1015-425: The nobility. The woman, at the left, is reattaching the garter on her leg. The man, at her right, offers to help, but she rejects firmly his assistance with a gesture of her hand. The man's tricorn lies at the ground. At her left, a book lies on a table, where also stands a nude classical female statuette. Behind the table a mirror reflects the statuette and shows a nearby window. At the left a fine clock, decorated with

1050-820: The two versions of the Pilgrimage to Cythera , one in the Louvre , the other in the Schloss Charlottenburg , Berlin , are Pierrot (long identified as "Gilles" ), Fêtes venitiennes , Love in the Italian Theater , Love in the French Theater , "Voulez-vous triompher des belles?" and Mezzetin . The subject of his hallmark painting, Pierrot ( Gilles ), is an actor in a white satin costume who stands isolated from his four companions, staring ahead with an enigmatic expression on his face. Watteau's final masterpiece,

1085-417: Was a French painter and draughtsman whose brief career spurred the revival of interest in colour and movement, as seen in the tradition of Correggio and Rubens . He revitalized the waning Baroque style, shifting it to the less severe, more naturalistic, less formally classical, Rococo . Watteau is credited with inventing the genre of fêtes galantes , scenes of bucolic and idyllic charm, suffused with

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1120-514: Was an active member of the fashionable world he depicted. The closeness to Watteau is evidenced by the fact that his The Alarm, or the Gouvernante Fidèle (1723, Victoria and Albert Museum , London) was attributed to Watteau in the 19th century. De Troy’s tableaux de mode responded to the artistic preferences of a new clientele for art in France: successful bankers and financiers representing

1155-571: Was given a room at the French Academy. He also visited northern Italian cities. He was at the same time aggregated and admitted to the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture in July 1708, presumably on the strength of his composition Niobe and her Children ( Musée Fabre ) but certainly not without a little help of his father who was then the director of that institution. He undertook commissions for

1190-444: Was presumed to be of Walloon descent . The Watteaus were a quite well-to-do family, although Jean-Philippe, a roofer in second generation, was said to be given to brawling. Showing an early interest in painting , Jean-Antoine may have been apprenticed to Jacques-Albert Gérin , a local painter, and his first artistic subjects were charlatans selling quack remedies on the streets of Valenciennes. Watteau left for Paris in 1702. After

1225-550: Was semi-conscious and mute during his final days, clutching a paint brush and painting imaginary paintings in the air. His nephew, Louis Joseph Watteau , son of Antoine's brother Noël Joseph Watteau (1689–1756), and grand nephew, François-Louis-Joseph Watteau , son of Louis, followed Antoine into painting. Little known during his lifetime beyond a small circle of his devotees, Watteau "was mentioned but seldom in contemporary art criticism and then usually reprovingly". Sir Michael Levey once noted that Watteau "created, unwittingly,

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