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Head of a Man

ca. 1718
Not on view
This expressive sheet is a study for the man's head in Watteau's painting Mezzetin, also in the Museum's collection (34.138). Mezzetin was a character in the popular commedia dell'arte, typically amorous and sentimental. In the Museum's painting, he sits on a stone bench outside a building, playing a guitar and gazing plaintively at an unseen window. The artist placed a female garden statue in the woods behind the Mezzetin, its back turned to the actor, suggesting an unrequited love. In this robust red and black study, Watteau established the angle of the head, the uplifted eyes, and the parted lips that were carried over into the painting. In its emotional force and the melding of the two colors of chalk, this sheet recalls the precedent of Rubens, an artist much admired by Watteau.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Head of a Man
  • Artist: Antoine Watteau (French, Valenciennes 1684–1721 Nogent-sur-Marne)
  • Date: ca. 1718
  • Medium: Red and black chalk
  • Dimensions: 5 7/8 x 5 3/16 in. (14.9 x 13.1 cm)
  • Classification: Drawings
  • Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1937
  • Object Number: 37.165.107
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

More Artwork
Mezzetin, Antoine Watteau French, Oil on canvas
Mezzetin
Antoine Watteau
ca. 1718–20
Guitar, Jean-Baptiste Voboam French, Spruce, tortoiseshell, mother-of-pearl, ivory, ebony, French
Guitar
attributed to Jean-Baptiste Voboam
1697
Cottage near the Entrance to a Wood, Rembrandt (Rembrandt van Rijn) Dutch, Pen and inks ranging from light to dark brown, brown washes, corrected in white (oxidized, partially abraded), and touches of red chalk (in added structures to the left of the main cottage).
Cottage near the Entrance to a Wood
Rembrandt (Rembrandt van Rijn)
1644
Seated Woman, Antoine Watteau French, Black, red and white chalk
Seated Woman
Antoine Watteau
1716–17
Ceramic Horn, Glazed pottery, French
Ceramic Horn
French
late 18th or early 19th century

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