Plate 12 from the series ‘L’Oeuvre D’Antoine Watteau Peintre du Roy En son Academie Roïale de Peinture et Sculpture, Gravé d’apres ses Tableaux & Desseins originaux tirez due Cabinet du Roy & des plus curieux de L’Europe Par Les Soins de M. de Jullienne.” [The Work of Antoine Watteau, Painter of The King, in His Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture, Engraved from his Original Paintings & Drawings drawn from the Cabinet of The King & of the most interesting in Europe by the Care of M. Jullienne], known as Recueil Jullienne, the complete compendium of engravings after Watteau’s paintings published in two volumes by Watteau’s friend and protector Jean de Jullienne (1686-1766).
The original painting* for this print came from the collection of Jullienne. Jean Jullienne was an amateur painter, engraver and musician; at the same time he was the managing directory of a factory attached to the Gobelins. Later he became de Jullienne, and the owner of the business. He became Watteau’s friend and greatest champion; it was to Jullienne (along with the dealer Edmé Gersaint, the Abbé Haranger, and the amateur artist Nicolas Hénin) that Watteau bequeathed his estate, which included almost all of his drawings. Shortly after Watteau’s death in 1721, Jullienne began compiling a record of Watteau’s work in the form of engravings. This monumental work, produced at Jullienne’s expense, consists of more than five hundred plates after pictures and decorations by the artist - publishing the complete corpus of Watteau’s production.
Scotin was a French engraver, active in both France and England. Early in his career, which began in Paris, he engraved ten plates by Watteau for the Receuil Jullienne, one of the earliest attempts to produce an illustrated catalogue devoted to the work of a near contemporary artist.
* It was last sold on the market in 2015 (see Christie’s London, Sale on 9 July 2015, lot 25).
