''The Robber of the Sparrow's Nest'' () is an oil painting by the
French Rococo artist
Antoine Watteau, now in the
National Galleries of Scotland
National Galleries of Scotland ( gd, Gailearaidhean Nàiseanta na h-Alba) is the executive non-departmental public body that controls the three national galleries of Scotland and two partner galleries, forming one of the National Collections o ...
,
Edinburgh. Variously dated between 1709 and 1716, the painting is a pastoral scene that is one of a few extant
arabesques in Watteau's art; it shows a young couple with a dog, sitting at a sparrow's nest; it has been thought to be influenced by
Flemish Baroque painting, exactly by
Peter Paul Rubens' painting from the
Marie de' Medici cycle.
In the 18th century, ''The Robber of the Sparrow's Nest'' was once in the collection of Watteau's friend and patron
Jean de Jullienne; passing through a number of private owners, it came into possession of the Scottish landscape painter
Hugh William Williams by the early 19th century; in 1860, the latter's widow donated the painting to the National Gallery of Scotland.
Exhibition history
Bibliography
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External links
''The Robber of the Sparrow's Nest''at the National Galleries of Scotland's official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robber of the Sparrow's Nest, The
1710s paintings
Paintings by Antoine Watteau
Paintings in the National Galleries of Scotland