L'art de Watteau, entre naturel et artificiel

Kovács, Katalin (2022) L'art de Watteau, entre naturel et artificiel. ECHO DES ETUDES ROMANES, 18 (2). pp. 45-56. ISSN 1801-0865

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Abstract

Based on the example of how Jean-Antoine Watteau's art appears in texts written by 18th century authors, this study aims to show that in the painter’s work, the natural and the artificial are not opposite values. Watteau was interested in the representation of nature, but in his paintings, he transforms it into an imaginary and spectacular one. This paper intends to reveal how contemporary writings reflect this ambiguity: some of them (those written by authors who knew the artist personally) emphasise the fidelity of nature of his works, while others (dating mainly from the second half of the 18th century) insist more on their artificial and mannered aspect. There is, however, a third group of texts, those that highlight the simultaneous presence of these two values in the painter's art, as well as in the critical discourse of the time.

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