A Performance by the Commedia dell'Arte
c. 1710
Medium
pen and brown ink with gray wash on laid paper
Dimensions
overall: 15.9 x 21.4 cm (6 1/4 x 8 7/16 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Woodner Collection, Gift of Andrea Woodner
Accession Number
2006.11.13.a
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of early 18th-century French theater with Claude Gillot *A Performance by the Commedia dellte* (c. 1710). This lively drawing captures the exuberant chaos of Italy's famous improvised comedy tradition, featuring masked performers in dynamic poses mid-action. Gillot, a French artist and influential teacher to Antoine Watteau, delighted in depicting these theatrical scenes, blending humor and movement in works that bridged Baroque energy with emerging Rococo lightness. Commedia dell'Arte, with its stock characters like Harlequin and Pierrot, had captivated European a...
About the Artist
Claude Gillot · 1673–1722
Artist known for his elegant designs done in the Rococo manner of Audran; also for his predilection for scenes from the 'comedia dell'arte.' Few paintings survive; his work is known mainly through drawings and etchings. Comment on works: Genre; History