Watteau's Pierrot to be cleaned

July 15 2024

Image of Watteau's Pierrot to be cleaned

Picture: Louvre

Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:

Exciting news from the Louvre in Paris that Watteau's iconic Pierrot (or sometimes referred to as Gilles) will be cleaned for a special exhibition opening in October 2024. Entitled A NEW LOOK ON WATTEAU: AN ACTOR WITH NO LINES - PIERROT, KNOWN AS GILLES the show promises to reveal new findings from their ongoing conservation project, alongside a more wider cultural history of the painting. Alas, they haven't released any mid-clean or post-clean photos just yet.

According to the museum's upcoming schedule:

Watteau’s Pierrot, formerly known as Gilles, is one of the most famous masterpieces in the Louvre’s collection. This enigmatic work, which has long raised questions for art historians, is currently undergoing conservation treatment at the Centre for Research and Restoration of the Museums of France, after which time it will be the focus of a spotlight exhibition.

Nothing is known about the painting before it was discovered by the artist and collector Dominique Vivant Denon (1747–1825), Director of the Louvre under Napoleon. It soon came to be regarded as a Watteau masterpiece and garnered praise from renowned writers and art historians. It has often been seen as reflecting a certain image of the 18th century – mischievous, cynical or melancholy, depending on the author and the era. Its fame boosted the return to favour of 18th-century art in the age of Manet and Nadar.

The exhibition will present the findings of the conservation project. It will approach this wholly original work – whose attribution to Watteau has sometimes been questioned – both as part of the artist’s oeuvre and in the cultural and artistic context of the time. Alongside many other paintings and drawings by Watteau, there will be works by his contemporaries – painters, draughtsmen, engravers (Claude Gillot, Antoine Joseph Pater, Nicolas Lancret, Jean Baptiste Oudry, Jean Honoré Fragonard, etc.) and writers (Pierre de Marivaux, Alain-René Lesage, Jean-François Regnard, Evaristo Gherardi), with special emphasis on the rich theatrical repertoire of the time.

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