Italian Comedians Taking Their Bows
c. 1718
Medium
red chalk and graphite on cream laid paper
Dimensions
overall: 17.8 x 18.5 cm (7 x 7 5/16 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Gertrude Laughlin Chanler
Accession Number
2000.9.27
Art Historical Context
Antoine Watteau's *Italian Comedians Taking Bows* (c. 1718) is a delicate drawing that captures the graceful finale of a theatrical performance. Rendered in red chalk and graphite on cream laid paper, this intimate 17.8 x 18.5 cm sheet showcases performers mid-bow, their costumes flowing with Rococo elegance. As a master of the French Rococo style, Watteau frequently depicted the world of commedia dell'arte—Italian improvisational theater troupes popular in early 18th-century Paris—infusing his scenes with a bittersweet charm that blended fantasy and human emotion. This work exemplifies Watte...
About the Artist
Antoine Watteau · 1684–1721
Jean-Antoine Watteau, born in 1684 in Valenciennes to a modest family—his father a roofer named Jean-Philippe Watteau—was the second of four sons who displayed an early passion for art. After initial apprenticeship under local painter Jacques-Albert Gérin, he moved to Paris around 1702, working in workshops copying Flemish and Dutch genre scenes. By 1705, he entered the studio of Claude Gillot, ab...