Jean-Baptiste Pater

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This painting has not been restored for some time. The canvas is lined but the cracking is raised and a fresh lining would eliminate this raised cracking. The painting is also dirty and if the lining were to be changed, cleaning the painting would be advisable. Under ultraviolet light a few retouches are faintly visible in the foliage in the lower right and in the architecture on the far left. The wooded background behind the figures and the ground on which they sit is thinly painted and further thinness may have developed over time. However, given the excellent detail and quality to the figure group we may assume that although there may be some retouches beneath an older varnish, the condition of the painting is extremely respectable.
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One of the rare pupils of Antoine Watteau, Jean-Baptiste Pater proved a great talent for absorbing the master's lessons in rococo and baroque style and subject matter, with much success. According to legend, Pater's work was, indeed, so impressive that Watteau dismissed him from his studio, fearing that his pupil's talent would soon surpass his own. Though the precise details surrounding Pater's departure are unknown, we know that he returned to the studio just before Watteau's death in 1721. The great painter's tutelage was clearly influential; Pater later claimed to have learned everything he knew from Watteau in those few final weeks before his death. Pater's mastery of Watteau's techniques was well-received; his works met great acclaim and gained him entry into the Academie in 1728.

In L'Amour et le Badinage, Pater captures perfectly the spirit and style of the fête galante originally championed by Watteau. Well-dressed members of the upper class enjoy an afternoon of bonheur and conversation in a lush outdoor setting in this idyllic scene of leisure and pleasure. This exceptionally well preserved work is one of several treatments of the same subject, executed by Pater in varying dimensions and media. In each, the composition is slightly modified, with figures added, removed, and displaced throughout. Additional alterations in the background and the sculpture presiding over the group appear as well.  

Of the five known variations, the present work is especially intriguing. In all the versions save for this one, small groups of idling figures dot the background, and in some cases, traces of a small town or village appear in the distance. Yet in the present work, Pater scarcely hints at the existence of others; it is instead the handful of figures in the foreground that are given utmost priority. Here Pater's technique shines. The central figure in pink is most notable; her delicate porcelain skin glows on canvas, impressively well preserved. Pater lends a touch of warmth and grace to the figure with cheeks slightly flushed and lightly rose-tinted, and her companions, equally at ease, gaze loftily and revel in each other's company. The right-most figure is also meticulously rendered; this familiar contemplative figure appears elsewhere in Pater's oeuvre, most notably in the painter's famous Fête champêtre (1728-1736), housed in the Royal Collection at Buckingham Palace in London. Bound by simple comfort and pleasure, these handsome and precisely rendered figures form a strong focal point apart from the decidedly sketchy landscape surrounding them. As for the background, it is only vaguely depicted; where in his other versions of this fête galante Pater has included trees of great detail and a more vibrant, fuller and cloudier sky, here only loosely painted foliage ensconces the figures, as if to guard and treasure this most private afternoon.   

Given the painter's concentration on only the most essential characters and elements, it is likely that the version presented here was one of the first versions of what would become a larger, more detailed painting. Its small size and rather sketchy, not yet fully developed background further suggest it is the earliest of its known companion pieces. In this remarkable early painting, we are given access to an impressive work that is quite likely the painter's first prototype of this famous composition. Later versions of this celebrated painting have been held in important European collections such as those of Maurice Rothschild (Paris), the German Imperial collection, and the collection of Count Vitzhum (Germany), the latter version selling in 2005 for $712,000 at Sotheby's, New York.