Two studies of an actor in the costume of Crispin

Wearing boots, an elegant cape and a long sword, known as a rapier, the figure depicted here is none other than Crispin, a zanni, or valet-adventurer, of the commedia dell’arte (F. Moureau, ‘Theatre Costumes in the Work of Watteau’, in Watteau, 1684-1721, exhib. cat., Washington, National Gallery of Art, Paris, Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais, and Berlin, Schloss Charlottenburg, 1984-1985, pp. 509-514). Depending on the play’s storyline, Crispin takes on the role of the cunning valet or of the deceitful master. This recurring figure in Watteau’s theatrical iconography is found in the painting entitled Les Comédiens françois (‘The French actors’) at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where the character, this time overweight, arrives from the right side, from behind the stage (inv. 49.7.54; see P. Rosenberg in Washington, Paris and Berlin, op. cit., Paintings, no. 70, ill.). In the present drawing, Watteau’s focus is on the details of the costume and the figure’s pose; the actor’s faces are less relevant, even though they may be based on that of Paul Poisson (1658-1735), who was considered the most famous Crispin of his time. Three other drawings by Watteau depicting the character – either alone or among a larger group of actors – are known: one in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (inv. RP-T-1953-188), another in the Musée Jacquemart-André Museum, Paris (inv. 1592), the third at the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow (inv. 4404; see Rosenberg and Prat, op. cit., II, nos. 602, 621, 400, ill.; and R.J.A. te Rijdt, De Watteau à Ingres. Dessins français du XVIIIe siècle du Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, exhib. cat., Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, and Paris, Institut Néerlandais, 2002-2003, no. 14, ill.). The sheet offered here, of which exists a counterproof (sold La Licorne, Meudon, 24-25 June 1991, lot 89; see Rosenberg and Prat, op. cit., I, p. 340, fig. 215a), is dated by Louis-Antoine Prat and Pierre Rosenberg to around 1714. The strokes in red chalk are still controlled and regular, in contrast with an already bold and original mise-en-page, with the two studies placed back to back but linked by the figure's capes and rapiers.