Tip: move over the painting to use the lens.
Mezzetin
Antoine Watteau · ca. 1718–20
- Artist
- Antoine Watteau French, Valenciennes 1684–1721 Nogent-sur-Marne
- Date
- ca. 1718–20
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Size
- 21 3/4 x 17 in. (55.2 x 43.2 cm)
- Where to see it
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Munsey Fund, 1934 · CC0 Public Domain · The Met · see it at the museum ↗
Slow Look
- The whole picture Let your eyes wander. Where do they want to rest?
- The light Find the brightest spot. What is it showing you?
- The edges Look at what is half cut off at the borders.
- One small detail Choose one tiny thing and stay with it for a while.
- The whole picture again Step back. Has it changed for you?
About Antoine Watteau
Jean-Antoine Watteau was a French painter and draughtsman whose brief career spurred the revival of interest in colour and movement, as seen in the tradition of Correggio and Rubens. He revitalized the waning Baroque style, shifting it to the less severe, more naturalistic, less formally classical, Rococo. Watteau is credited with inventing the genre of fêtes galantes, scenes of bucolic and idyllic charm, suffused with a theatrical air. Some of his best known subjects were drawn from the world of Italian comedy and ballet.
What do you see?
Stand in front of it for a moment. Then tell us what you noticed or felt - there are no wrong answers.
Be the first to share a thought.
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