LA BALANCEUSE
Medium
Bound print
Classification
Bound print
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Purchased for the Museum by the Advisory Council
Accession Number
1921-6-224-115
About this artwork
Research in Progress
Art Historical Context
Antoine Watteau, a master of the French Rococo style, is celebrated for his enchanting *fêtes galantes*—elegant scenes of aristocratic leisure amid lush gardens and pastoral idylls. *La Balanceuse* (The Swing), dated 1723–1735, is a bound print likely produced posthumously after one of Watteau's delicate drawings or paintings. Though the artist died young in 1721, his designs were widely disseminated through engravings by skilled printmakers, making his world accessible to a broader audience during the opulent Regency era in. This bound print exemplifies the technical virtuosity of 18th-centu...