LE BUVEUR
Classification
Bound print
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Purchased for the Museum by the Advisory Council
Accession Number
1921-6-224-94
About this artwork
Research in Progress
Art Historical Context
**LE BUVEUR** by Antoine Watteau (French, 1684–1721) captures the playful elegance of early 18th-century French, a hallmark of the artist's innovative Rococo style. Though Watteau passed away in 1721, this bound print—produced between 1723 and 1735—likely reproduces one of his compositions, allowing his whimsical scenes to reach wider audiences long after his death. " Buveur," meaning "The Drinker," evokes Watteau's signature fêtes galantes: lighthearted gatherings of figures in pastoral or theatrical settings, blending fantasy with subtle social commentary on leisure and revelry. As a bound ...