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L’Amour au théâtre français (copy 1)
Entered August 2014
Whereabouts unknown
Oil on canvas
51 x 62 cm
PROVENANCE
Paris, collection of Monsieur Dubois. His sale, Paris, December 7-9, 1843, lot 16: “WATTEAU (Antoine) . . . L’Amour au Théâtre Français. Des seigneurs et des dames en costume de théâtre, se livrent, dans un parc, aux plaisirs de la danse, de l’amour et de la collation; un orchestre placé sur la gauche, accompagne l’exécution du menuet d’Exaudet dansé par deux personnages. Ce tableau est gravé par Cochin. T., haut. 51 c., larg. 62 c.” Several differently annotated sale catalogues in the Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie list the selling price for this painting and its pendant, sold together, as between 1,297 and 1,300 francs.
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY
Dacier, Vuaflart, and Hérold, Jean de Jullienne et les graveurs (1921-29), under cat. 270.
Réau, “Watteau” (1928), under cat. 54.
Adhémar, Watteau (1950), under cat. 203.
Macchia and Montagni, L’opera completa di Watteau (1968), under cat. 187.
Washington, Paris, Berlin, Watteau 1684-1721 (1984), under cat. P38.
REMARKS
As the original was in Berlin in 1843, Dubois' picture could only have been a copy, probably based on Cochin's print. Dubois' painting was actually larger than Watteau's, and had a pendant, seemingly not L'Amour au théâtre italien but, rather, a composition described as showing actors in a pastoral setting.
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L’Amour au théâtre français (copy 2)
Entered August 2014
Whereabouts unknown
Oil on canvas
45.7 x 50.8 cm
PROVENANCE
London, Art Collectors’ Association, Ltd., c. 1920
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY
Adhémar, Watteau (1950), under cat. 203.
Macchia and Montagni, L’opera completa di Watteau (1968), under cat. 187.
Washington, Paris, Berlin, Watteau 1684-1721 (1984), under cat. P38.
REMARKS
According to a label affixed to a photograph from the Art Collectors’ Association that is in the Frick Art Reference Library, the picture was accompanied by two letters attesting to the picture being a genuine work by Watteau. One letter was from Lord Hertford and the other from an unidentified French expert. Such attestations not withstanding, the painting is only a copy.
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L’Amour au théâtre français (copy 3)
Entered August 2014
Whereabouts unknown
Oil on panel
52.7 x 73 cm
PROVENANCE
Edmund Darch Lewis collection (1835-1910, artist); bequeathed to his nephew, Clifford Lewis, Jr.
Philadelphia, PA, collection of Clifford Lewis, Jr.
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY
Adhémar, Watteau (1950), under cat. 203.
Macchia and Montagni, L’opera completa di Watteau (1968), under cat. 187.
Washington, Paris, Berlin, Watteau 1684-1721 (1984), under cat. P38.
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L’Amour au théâtre français (copy 4)
Entered August 2014; revised May 2021
Whereabouts unknown
Oil on canvas
38.7 x 46.3 cm
ALTERNATIVE TITLES
Das französische Theater
PROVENANCE
New York, Christie’s East, November 13, 1997, lot 118: “AFTER ANTOINE WATTEAU / A Fête Champêtre / oil on canvas / 15¼ x 18 ¼in (38.7 x 46.3cm.) Two (2) After the painting in the Staatliche Museum, Berlin, Inv. no. 468. Sold with a painting in the manner of David Teniers II. / Estimate: $2,000-4,000.”
London, Christie’s South Kensington, February 18, 1998, lot 134: “AFTER JEAN-ANTOINE WATTEAU / A Fête Champêtre / oil on canvas / 15¼ x 18¼in. (38.7 x 46.3cm.) / After the picture in the Staatliche Museum, Berlin. / £1,500-2,000.”
Bremen, sale, Bolland & Marotz, November 12, 2016, lot 1426: After Jean Antoine Watteau, Das Französische Theater, Kopist 19 Jh. “Das Französischer Theater” nach Antoine Watteau (1684-1721). Öl/Lw., doubl. 38 x 48 cm / R. 60 x 71 cm. Rest. – Sehr stimmungsvoll spielt die Szene in einer natürlichen Grotte und die Darsteller sind bühnenartig beleuchet, während Zuschauer und Musikanten in der abendlichen Dunkelheit verschwimmen. Watteau, der sich in seiner Gemälden immer wieder mit dem Theater beschäftigte, schuf das Werk 1714. Das vorliegende Bild ist in Farbigkeit und Grösse eng an das Vorbild angelehnt. 38 x 48 cm. Estimate €2,000. Sold for €2,400.
REMARKS
This copy shows no apparent differences from Watteau’s composition. When it sold in 2016, it was attributed to a nineteenth-century copyist.
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L’Amour au théâtre français (copy 5)
Entered August 2014
Whereabouts unknown
Oil on panel
47 x 65 cm
ALTERNATIVE TITLES
Scene de parc
PROVENANCE
Nice, Galerie Robiony, May 26-27, 1971, lot 112: “ECOLE FRANÇAISE XVIIIme – SCENE DE PARC. Au centre, une jeune femme allongée sur un banc est entourée de sa suivante et de couples; à gauche, un violoniste et musiciens, dans le fond des personnages de la Comédie Italienne. Panneau. Haut. 0. m. 47; Larg. 0 m. 65. Voir la Reproduction Pl. I.”
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Washington, Paris, and Berlin, Watteau 1684-1721 (1984), under cat. P38.
REMARKS
Although Rosenberg in 1984 called this version "an exact copy," the picture is not a straightforward copy after Watteau’s composition. The anonymous painter added to the width at both sides and extended the foliage at the top to increase the height. The result is a composition that focuses less on the theatrical production and, instead, creates more of a feeling of a fête galante set within a forest. The copyist has also added three children in the lower left corner that he borrowed from Larmessin’s print after L’Accordée de village. This, in turn, suggests that he was relying on the Cochin engraving after L’Amour au théâtre français.
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L’Amour au théâtre français (copy 6)
Entered August 2014
Nantes, Musée des beaux-arts, inv. 6711
Oil on canvas
51.5 x 63 cm
PROVENANCE
Nantes, Musée des beaux-arts. Although undocumented in the museum's records, it must have been there in the nineteenth century.
Nantes, Hôtel de Ville. Transferred there c. 1900. Transferred back to the Musée des beaux-arts in 1962.
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY
Staley, Watteau (1902), 132.
Washington, Paris, Berlin, Watteau 1684-1721 (1984), under cat. P38.
Gerin-Pierre, Catalogue des peintures françaises (2006), cat. 228.
REMARKS
The history of this painting's provenance has been confused until now. It evidently entered the museum's collection in the nineteenth century although there seems to be no record of this in the museum's archives. It was seen there before 1902 by Edgcumbe Staley, who recognized it to be a copy after the Berlin museum's L'Amour au théâtre français. How much earlier than 1902 had he seen it there? Probably before April 1900 when the museum moved into its new building. As this picture was not listed in the museum's 1903 catalogue nor in the carefully prepared 1913 catalogue drawn up by Marcel Nicolle and Emile Dacier, it must have been elsewhere, i.e., in the Hôtel de Ville. It was perhaps moved there around 1900 since, after all, it was just a copy and had only decorative value. The painting was not mentioned in the museum's 1953 catalogue because it was still in the Hôtel de Ville. It was not transferred back to the museum until 1962. Curiously, the museum is unaware that it had previously been in its collection.
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L’Amour au théâtre français (copy 7)
Entered August 2014
Whereabouts unknown
Oil on panel
38 x 48 cm
ALTERNATIVE TITLES
Französische Komödie
PROVENANCE
Zurich, Koller West, December 5-10, 2005, lot 6431: "WATTEAU, ANTOINE . . . Kopie von Karl Lucki / Französische Komodie. Öl auf Holz. Verso bezeichnet: Antoine Watteau 1684-1721 "Farnz. [sic] Komödie" Orig. Copie von -Karl Lucki- Charlottenburg 5 Suarastr. 48. 38x48 cm. CHF 1 200. - / 1500.- (€780.- / 970.-) Siehe Abb. S. 73." Bought in.
REMARKS
This is one of those rare instances where the identity of the copyist is certain. He is Karl Lucki, an artist known for copies after other Old Master paintings.
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L’Amour au théâtre français (copy 8)
Entered August 2014
Whereabouts unknown
Materials unknown
Dimensions unknown
PROVENANCE
Bruges, collection Gabriel Loze
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY
Lejeune, Guide théorique et pratique (1864), 3: 323.
Washington, Paris, Berlin, Watteau 1684-1721 (1984), under cat. P38, P65.
REMARKS
Lejeune cited two paintings in the Loze collection given to Louis Joseph Watteau (Watteau de Lille) as representing “La Comédie italienne et la Comédie française.” He described them as copies after Antoine Watteau. In 1984 Rosenberg made the reasonable suggestion that these two pictures were copies after L’Amour au théâtre italien and L’Amour au théâtre français. It seems unlikely that they were by Watteau de Lille.
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L’Amour au théâtre français (copy 9) - See Copy 4
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L’Amour au théâtre français (copy 10)
Entered August 2018
Whereabouts unknown
Oil on canvas
37 x 47 cm
PROVENANCE
Berlin, sale, Dannenberg Auction, September 8, 2018, lot 3890: Unbekannter Maler (19. Jh.) Darstellung nach Watteau: “Italienische Komödie”. Öl/Lwd. (Alterspurren, Kratzer). Ca. 37 x 47 cm. Geschnitzter Prunkrahmen. Est. £520 - £600.
REMARKS
The attribution to a nineteenth-century copyist seems reasonable.
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L’Amour au théâtre français (copy 11)
Entered November 2018
Whereabouts unknown
Materials unknown
Dimensions unknown
PROVENANCE
Paris, sale, December 17, 1855, lot 3: “WATTEAU. L’Amour au Théâtre-Français.”
REMARKS
The collection that was sold in 1855 was said to be “arrivant de l’Étranger et de la Province.”
The picture in question may well be one of the many copies already cited above but the data is too sparse to draw any conclusion.
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L’Amour au théâtre français (copy 12)
Entered June 2021
Whereabouts unknown
Oil on canvas
65 x 53.5 cm
ALTERNATIVE TITLES
Fête galante
PROVENANCE
Paris, sale, Hôtel Drouot-Montaigne (Marc-Arthur Kohn), July 5, 2004, lot 58: “SUIVEUR DE WATTEAU / XIXe siècle / Fête galante /Toile / 65 x 53,5 cm / Estimation 8 000 – 9 000 €.”
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L’Amour au théâtre français (copy 13)
Entered May 2023
Whereabouts unknown
Oil on canvas
55.9 x 76.2 cm
PROVENANCE
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, private collection.
Detroit, sale, DuMouchelles, May 19, 2023, lot 1072: After Antoine Watteau . . . Oil on Canvas, 19th C., L’amour Au Theatre Francais, H 22” W 30” / Unsigned. After the painting by Watteau. Having a carved wood frame, H 31.5”, W 39.75”. Provenance: Property from a Bloomfield Hills, MI private collector. Est. $55- $800.”
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