A new look at Watteau

Watteau's Pierrot, known as Gilles, is one of the most famous masterpieces in the Louvre collection. This mysterious painting has been raising many questions among historians for decades. Following its restoration, currently under way at the Centre de Recherche et de Restauration des Musées de France, it will be the focus of a special exhibition.

Nothing was known about the work until it was discovered by Dominique Vivant Denon (1747-1825), an artist and collector who was director of the Louvre under Napoleon. It was soon regarded as one of Watteau's masterpieces, and celebrated by leading writers and art historians. For many, it embodied a certain image of the eighteenth century, by turns, depending on the author and the period, malicious, cynical or melancholy. Her prestige was a major factor in the revival of eighteenth-century art in the era of Manet and Nadar.

The exhibition will provide an opportunity to present the information that the restoration work has revealed, and also to study this totally unique painting, whose attribution has sometimes been disputed, in the context of Watteau's work and the cultural and artistic context in which it was produced. The exhibition will bring together a large number of works by Watteau (paintings and drawings) as well as by his contemporaries, painters, draughtsmen, engravers (Gillot, Pater, Lancret, Oudry, Fragonard, etc.) and writers (Marivaux, Lesage, Regnard, Evaristo Gherardi), focusing on the rich theatrical repertoire of the period.

Even before it entered the Louvre's collections in 1869, thanks to the bequest of Louis La Caze (1798-1869), this painting captivated those who contemplated it for generations. This power of fascination is undoubtedly due to its exceptional quality, but also to its uniqueness in its century and the mystery surrounding the conditions in which it was created.

This exhibition is supported by the Kythera Kultur-Stiftung.

In media partnership with Le Monde and Connaissance des Arts.