Man walking and carrying a cane in his right hand, shown in three-quarters view with his head turned away from the viewer, from "Figures of Fashion" (Figures de Modes)

About this artwork

Antoine Watteau (1684-1721), the French master who revitalized the Baroque style and pioneered the Rococo movement, created this elegant fashion plate etching around 1710 as part of his "Figures de Modes" series. Unusually for Watteau, he both drew and etched these plates himself before they were lightly reworked by engraver Simon Thomassin the Younger for publication. The series consisted of seven etchings showing fashionably dressed men and women of the 1710s, created when Paris was establishi...

Art Historical Context

Antoine Watteau (1684–1721), the French artist who bridged Baroque grandeur with the playful elegance of Rococo, crafted this etching around 1710 as part of his rare "Figures de Modes". Paris in the 1710s was buzzing as Europe's fashion epicenter, and Watteau captured its stylish spirit in seven prints featuring elegantly dressed men and women.usually hands-on, he both drew and etched these himself—lightly touched up by engraver Simon Thomassin the—showcasing his precise, fluid line work. This plate shows a gentleman striding forward in three-quarters view, his head turned coyly away, cane in...

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...