Two Studies of a Violinist Tuning His Instrument
1717/1718
Medium
black and red chalk heightened with white chalk on light brown laid paper, with later framing line in brown ink
Dimensions
overall: 30 x 21.3 cm (11 13/16 x 8 3/8 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Howard Sturges
Accession Number
1956.9.27
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...