Jean-Antoine Watteau, The Clothes are Italian
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund, 2008.3 · The Cleveland Museum of Art, Open Access (CC0)View original →
Jean-Antoine Watteau

The Clothes are Italian

1715–16

Current Collection

Cleveland Museum of Art

Cleveland, United States

Medium
etching
Dimensions
30 × 20.9 cm
Status
In Museum Collection
Collect24 Art ID
C24-197851

Actors dressed as stock characters from the Italian commedia dell’arte and the French popular theater take their final bow in this print. Known for their comic plots and improvisational satire, the Italian players were banned in France from 1697 until 1716 after one of their productions was thought to criticize King Louis XIV’s mistress. Still in demand with French audiences, some of the characters and stories were adapted into the less regulated popular performances. The sense of whimsy and play associated with this form of theater is mirrored by the spontaneity and freedom of the artist's e…

Provenance

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund, 2008.3

Registry history

  • 1715–16 — Recorded in the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art — prints

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