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The Fair at Bezons

ca. 1733
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 629
Pater’s painting, already described as his masterpiece in the eighteenth century, depicts an annual fair held on the outskirts of Paris with some 170 different figures. During a period when popular entertainment regularly influenced high culture, the fair at Bezons inspired a play, a ballet-pantomime, and several artworks. People from all classes enjoy the festivities, food, and informal entertainments, which include musicians and a performing monkey on stage. The idyllic, make-believe atmosphere derives from the work of Antoine Watteau, who himself had looked to fair scenes by Peter Paul Rubens. The dancer at center may be Marie-Anne Botot d’Angeville, a famous comic actress; behind her to the left is Pierrot, a stock character from the Italian commedia dell’arte often found in paintings by Watteau.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Fair at Bezons
  • Artist: Jean-Baptiste Joseph Pater (French, Valenciennes 1695–1736 Paris)
  • Date: ca. 1733
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 42 x 56 in. (106.7 x 142.2 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: The Jules Bache Collection, 1949
  • Object Number: 49.7.52
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

More Artwork

More Artwork
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Halte des Troupes (Soldiers and Women in an Encampment), Jean-Baptiste Joseph Pater French, Etching
Halte des Troupes (Soldiers and Women in an Encampment)
Jean-Baptiste Joseph Pater
18th century
Man Leaning on a Wall (recto), Jean-Baptiste Joseph Pater French, Red chalk heightened with white, on blue paper
Man Leaning on a Wall (recto)
Jean-Baptiste Joseph Pater
early 18th century
Concert Champêtre, Jean-Baptiste Joseph Pater French, Oil on canvas
Concert Champêtre
Jean-Baptiste Joseph Pater
ca. 1734
Troops on the March, Jean-Baptiste Joseph Pater French, Oil on canvas
Troops on the March
Jean-Baptiste Joseph Pater
ca. 1725
The Golden Age, Jean-Baptiste Joseph Pater French, Oil on wood
The Golden Age
Jean-Baptiste Joseph Pater

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