''Pierrot'', also retrospectively known as ''Gilles'', is an
oil on canvas
Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments with a medium of drying oil as the binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on wood panel or canvas for several centuries, spreading from Europe to the rest of ...
painting of by the French Rococo artist
Jean-Antoine Watteau
Jean-Antoine Watteau (, , ; baptised October 10, 1684died July 18, 1721) Alsavailablevia Oxford Art Online (subscription needed). was a French painter and draughtsman whose brief career spurred the revival of interest in colour and movement, as ...
(1684–1721). Completed in the later phase of Watteau's career, ''Pierrot'' measures 184.5 by 149.5 cm, which makes up somewhat unusual case in the artist's body of work. The painting depicts a number of actors portraying ''
commedia dell'arte
(; ; ) was an early form of professional theatre, originating from Italian theatre, that was popular throughout Europe between the 16th and 18th centuries. It was formerly called Italian comedy in English and is also known as , , and . Charact ...
'' character types, with one as the
titular character
The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piece. The title of ...
set in the foreground.
By the early 19th century, ''Pierrot'' belonged to
Dominique Vivant, Baron Denon, the first director of the Louvre Museum; it later passed to the Parisian physician
Louis La Caze
Louis La Caze (6 May 1798 – 28 September 1869) was a successful French physician and collector of paintings whose bequest of 583 paintings to the Musée du Louvre was one of the largest the museum has ever received. Among the paintings, the most ...
, who had his collection bequeathed to the
Louvre
The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...
in 1869.
References
Further reading
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External links
''Pierrot, formerly known as Gilles''at the Louvre's official web site
at the
Web Gallery of Art
The Web Gallery of Art (WGA) is a virtual art gallery website. It displays historic European visual art, mainly from the Baroque, Gothic art, Gothic and Renaissance periods, available for educational and personal use.
Overview
The website contain ...
1710s paintings
Paintings by Antoine Watteau
Paintings in the Louvre by French artists
Clowns in art
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