JEAN-ANTOINE WATTEAU
#5 Seated Woman with a Fan
Red, black, and white chalk on light brown paper; H:- 2 cm (7^9 /i6 in.); W: 21.4 cm (8^7 /i6 in.)
82.06.16 4 (SEE PLATE 7)
MARKS AND INSCRIPTIONS: (Verso) on mount, in-
scribed Collection Lord Charles Townsend in black chalk.
PROVENANCE: Camille Groult, Paris; Pierre Bordeaux-
Groult, Paris; art market, New York.
EXHIBITIONS: None.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: J. Mathey, "Deuxdessins deJ.-B. Pater
(Dessins de maitres)," Gazette des Beaux-Arts 34, no. 6
(August 1948), p. 136, n. 5; K. T. Parker and J. Mathey,
Antoine Watteau: Catalogue complet de son oeuvre dessine
(Paris, 1957), vol. 2, p. 309, no. 549; Wallace Collection
Catalogues: Pictures and Drawings, i6th edn. (London,
1968), p. 361, under no. P389; P. Rosenberg and M. Gras-
selli, Watteau 1684-1721, exh. cat., Grand Palais, Paris,
1984, p. 351, under no. 44.THIS EXCEPTIONALLY WELL-PRESERVED STUDY BY
Watteau has been variously related to figures in The
Champs-Ely sees (London, Wallace Collection), the Plea-
sures of Love (Dresden, Gemaldegalerie), and the Timid
Lover (Palacio Real de Madrid). Of the three it is clearly
closest to the last, as has been noted by Rosenberg (Ro-
senberg and Grasselli 1984, no. 44). The seated young
woman who appears in the other two paintings in a
similar pose is instead based upon a study in Sevres (for-
merly [?] Haumont collection; Parker and Mathey 1957,
vol. 2, no. 585). The Museum's drawing anticipates not
only the form of the woman in the Madrid picture but
also the lighting and facial expression. In the painting she
is shown looking down at a young man, who timidly
holds a flower. The preparatory study for that male fig-
ure is in the Petit Palais, Paris (Parker and Mathey 1957,
no. 666). The painting has been dated to circa 1716 by
Rosenberg (Rosenberg and Grasselli 1984, no. 44) and
others, providing an approximate date for the studies.I9O FRENCH SCHOOL • WATTEAU