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| Jean-Antoine Watteau Commedia dell'Arte troupe ca. 1715-16 etching British Museum |
Jean-Antoine Watteau never reached the age of forty. He died in 1721, only outliving the ancient Louis XIV by six years. The old king's taste for elaboration, for stiffness, for hierarchy buttressed by allegory and mythology, had dominated French taste since the middle of the previous century. Watteau arrived on earth in order to destroy that aesthetic empire, and he did so, not by confrontation but by evasion.
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| Jean-Antoine Watteau Study of a seated woman early 18th century drawing British Museum |
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| Jean-Antoine Watteau Three studies of men early 18th century drawing British Museum |
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| Jean-Antoine Watteau Studies of a woman early 18th century drawing British Museum |
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| Jean-Antoine Watteau Woman in a striped dress, seen from the back early 18th century drawing British Museum |
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| Jean-Antoine Watteau Seated woman early 18th century drawing British Museum |
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| Jean-Antoine Watteau Portrait studies of two daughters of Pierre Sirois 1718 drawing British Museum |
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| Jean-Antoine Watteau Two men dancing and an old man with a crutch early 18th century drawing British Museum |
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| Jean-Antoine Watteau Servant in Oriental dress carrying a salver ca. 1715 drawing British Museum |
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| Jean-Antoine Watteau Five studies of women seated on the ground early 18th century drawing British Museum |
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| Jean-Antoine Watteau Studies of a woman's head early 18th century drawing British Museum |
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| Jean-Antoine Watteau Studies of a woman with a head-dress early 18th century drawing British Museum |
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| Jean-Antoine Watteau Two seated women early 18th century drawing British Museum |
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| Jean-Antoine Watteau Two women early 18th century drawing British Museum |
All images are from collections at the British Museum.