Two Standing Soldiers, One Wearing a Hat

1709/1710

Antoine Watteau

Associated Names
Antoine Watteau

Artist, French, 1684 - 1721

The image shows two full-bodied sketched figures standing side by side. The figure on the left is seen in a slightly angled position, facing inwards towards the other figure, with one knee slightly bent. This person seems to be wearing a hat with a wide brim and possibly a feather or decoration, as well as garments that resemble a loose-fitting jacket and skirt or tunic that reaches mid-thigh, and stockings or tall boots. The figure has short, tousled hair that sticks out from beneath the hat, and their features are discernibly male, though without defined facial details due to the sketch's style. The second figure stands more directly, with their body turned slightly to the left. They wear a long, soft garment that resembles a robe or drapery, gathered in one hand, while their hair is styled upward, indicating a more feminine appearance. Their facial features are also not distinctly detailed. The sketch is composed with brownish-red chalk on a plain paper background, and aside from the figures, there are no other distinct background elements.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    red chalk on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Gift of Donald Stone

  • Dimensions

    overall: 14.3 × 8 cm (5 5/8 × 3 1/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2022.40.4

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Rosenberg and Prat 1996: no. 61


Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Private collection, Basel, to 1987; (anonymous sale, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, 29 - 30 November 1989, no. 16). (Galerie Cailleux, Paris, c. 1991). (sale, Christie's New York, 27 January 1999, no. 115); Donald Stone, New York [1942 - 2020]; bequest to NGA, 2022.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1991

  • Le Rouge et le Noir, Galerie Cailleux, Paris, 1991, no. 14.

2016

  • Watteau's Soldiers: Scenes of Military Life in Eighteenth-Century France, The Frick Collection, New York, 2016, no.11 (cat. by Aaron Wile).

Bibliography

1984

  • The Watteau Society Bulletin 1994, no. 3, 45.

1992

  • Munhall, Edgar. Little Notes Concerning Watteau's Portal of Valenciennes. New York, 1992: 23, 34 note 56.

1996

  • Rosenberg, Pierre and Louis-Antoine Prat. Antoine Watteau 1684-1721. Catalogue raisonné des dessins. Milan: Leonardo Editore, 1996: no. 61.

Watermarks

none


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