The Clothes are Italian

The Clothes are Italian by Jean-Antoine Watteau (French, 1684–1721)

Medium

etching and engraving

Dimensions

{"sheet":{"height":0.372,"width":0.269},"platemark":{"height":0.305,"width":0.213}}

Classification

Print

Department

Prints

Museum

Cleveland Museum of Art

Credit

Dudley P. Allen Fund

Accession Number

2011.11

Tags

male

About this artwork

Actors dressed as stock characters from the Italian commedia dell’arte and the French popular theater take their final bow in this print. Known for their comic plots and improvisational satire, the Italian players were banned in France from 1697 until 1716 after one of their productions was thought to criticize King Louis XIV’s mistress. Still in demand with French audiences, some of the characters and stories were adapted into the less regulated performances. Before the print’s publication, Jea...

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