Cleveland Museum of Art

Antoine Watteau

François Boucher

Date

c. 1727

Medium

etching and engraving

Culture

France, 18th century

Department

Prints

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

This etching served as the frontispiece for Jean de Jullienne’s The Works of Antoine Watteau (L’Oeuvre d’Antoine Watteau). Early in his career, Boucher reproduced more than 100 etchings of Watteau’s works for the publication, learning to emulate his elegant draftsmanship. This had a lasting effect on the young artist, as is evident in a comparison of Boucher’s Andromeda with Watteau’s The Clothes Are Italian, both on view nearby. The tribute to Watteau inscribed below the portrait translates: Watteau, adorned by Nature with happy talents,Was very grateful for the gifts she gave him:Never has another hand painted her more beautifully,Nor been known to display her with features so gallant.

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