The Italian Comedians, ca. 1720. Jean-Antoine Watteau (French, 1684–1721).Oil on canvas. The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles.
Getty acquires Watteau’s “The Italian Comedians” The J. Paul Getty Museum announced the acquisition of ‘The Italian Comedians’ (ca. 1720), a large oil painting attributed to Jean-Antoine Watteau.]]>
March 16, 2012, source: Getty Museum
“The Italian Comedians” has been in private collections since the 18th century and has not been publicly exhibited since 1929. Over the last three centuries, its attribution has fluctuated. Until the late 19th century, the painting was attributed to Watteau. It was then assigned to Watteau’s pupil Jean-Baptiste Pater and subsequently to an anonymous painter in the circle of Watteau. Although the attribution has changed over time, the artwork has always been praised for its brilliant composition and emotional power and associated with Watteau’s psychologically profound depictions of the Italian Comedians.
“Although not all scholars agree about the attribution, they are all in accord that the canvas is brilliantly conceived, emotionally compelling, beautifully painted, and by an artist at the top of his form,” explained Scott Schaefer, senior curator of paintings at the Getty Museum. James Cuno, President and CEO of the J. Paul Getty Trust, said that “this major, little-known painting is extraordinary. It shows Watteau at the height of his creative genius”.
The work joins 18th century French paintings already in the Getty’s collection by artists such as Nicolas Lancret (1690 –1743), Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin (1699–1779), Claude-Joseph Vernet (1714–1789), and Jean-Honoré Fragonard (1732–1806), all of which have been acquired by the Museum in the last decade.
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