JEAN ANTOINE WATTEAU | Study of the head of a young man

Pierre Defer (1798-1870), Paris (L.739), 
by inheritance to his son-in-law Henri Dumesnil (1823-1898), 
his sale, Paris, Hotel Drouot, 10-12 May 1900, lot 218 (800 francs, to Danlos);
private collection, England

M. Morgan Grasselli, 'Eighteen Drawings by Antoine Watteau: A Chronological Study', Master Drawings, vol. 31, no. 2, 1993, pp. 119-20, no. 13, fig. 22;
P. Rosenberg and L-A Prat, Antoine Watteau 1684-1721 Catalogue raisonné des dessins, vol. II, pp. 1034-5, no. 607, reproduced and p. 1080, under no. 633

Laid down. A little light staining and surface dirt, but chalk in good overall condition. Sold in a modern gilded frame.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

This delightful head study of a young man, drawn in two shades of red chalk, is not only a quintessential example of Watteau’s idiosyncratic graphic style, but also wonderfully indicative of the emotive qualities with which he managed, often with extraordinary economy of media, to imbue his drawings. As noted by Margaret Morgan Grasselli (see Literature) both the twist of the head and the wistful expression of the man can be closely compared to figures in several of Watteau’s later paintings, most notably the bagpiper in Fêtes Vénitiennes, the gentleman seated on the ground at the centre of Rendez-vous de chasse and the actor standing at the centre of Les comédiens français, all of which date to circa 1718-20.¹ Rosenberg and Prat acknowledge Grasselli’s dating of the present work to 1717-19 proposing their own, fractionally later dating of 1718-19, while reaffirming her initial observation that the head is indeed extremely close to that of the bagpiper in Fêtes Vénitiennes, though clearly turned fractionally less to the left than the corresponding painted figure.² What is without doubt, however, is that this pathos laden work, small in scale but packed full of the artist’s bravura, deftly encapsulates Watteau’s extraordinary powers as a draughtsman.

For another highly comparable drawing by the artist, depicting the Head of a young woman, also from the Defer-Dumesnil collection and similarly dating to circa 1717-1719, see lot 342.

^1. Fêtes Vénitiennes, Edinburgh, National Gallery of Scotland, inv. no. NG 439; Rendez-vous de chasse, London, The Wallace Collection, inv. no. P416; Les comédiens français, New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, inv. no. 49.7.54
^2. Rosenberg and Prat, op. cit., p. 1034, no. 607