Lot Essay
This screen incorporates panels inspired by French School paintings of the second quarter of the 18th century. The panels represent images of the fête galante interspersed with elegant architecturally designed panels depicting arabesques and figures.
The death of Antoine Watteau in 1721 marked the beginning of the dissemination of an artistic style that would remain popular throughout the reign of Louis XV. Watteau's subject matter popularly referred to as the fête galante depicts gentlemen and ladies in leisurely pursuits set in an idealized landscape setting. The decorative panels which alternate on the offered lot relate to a group of red chalk drawings currently in the Nationalmuseum, Stockhom no. 1252-1263 which were executed by Watteau no later than 1709 (see P. Bjurgström, French Drawings, 18th Century, Nationalmuseum, 1982). One drawing in particular, 'Singerie' (op. cit., no. 1252) a sketch for a wall painting at Marly, bears numerous stylistic similarities to the decorative panels of the screen. Watteau's works were extensively reproduced in print form principally through the efforts of Watteau's patron Jean de Jullienne. The first of these sets of prints, Figures de differents Caractères, de Paysages et d'Études dessinée d'apres Nature, was published in 1726. In 1735 these first sets were collected in two volumes including Watteau's arabesque drawings and titled Recueil Jullienne. Though none of the images on the screen are drawn specifically from these prints, they clearly express the artist's knowledge and exposure of the work of Antoine Watteau.
A related screen with scenes adapted from Nicolas Lancret's Les Quieties Heures du Jour of c. 1740 is in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London and is illustrated in C. Packer, Paris Furniture, 1956, fig. 28.
The death of Antoine Watteau in 1721 marked the beginning of the dissemination of an artistic style that would remain popular throughout the reign of Louis XV. Watteau's subject matter popularly referred to as the fête galante depicts gentlemen and ladies in leisurely pursuits set in an idealized landscape setting. The decorative panels which alternate on the offered lot relate to a group of red chalk drawings currently in the Nationalmuseum, Stockhom no. 1252-1263 which were executed by Watteau no later than 1709 (see P. Bjurgström, French Drawings, 18th Century, Nationalmuseum, 1982). One drawing in particular, 'Singerie' (op. cit., no. 1252) a sketch for a wall painting at Marly, bears numerous stylistic similarities to the decorative panels of the screen. Watteau's works were extensively reproduced in print form principally through the efforts of Watteau's patron Jean de Jullienne. The first of these sets of prints, Figures de differents Caractères, de Paysages et d'Études dessinée d'apres Nature, was published in 1726. In 1735 these first sets were collected in two volumes including Watteau's arabesque drawings and titled Recueil Jullienne. Though none of the images on the screen are drawn specifically from these prints, they clearly express the artist's knowledge and exposure of the work of Antoine Watteau.
A related screen with scenes adapted from Nicolas Lancret's Les Quieties Heures du Jour of c. 1740 is in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London and is illustrated in C. Packer, Paris Furniture, 1956, fig. 28.