Philippe Mercier (1689-1760) Attributed. School of Antoine Watteau. Gallant Scene. 18th century
Philippe Mercier (1689-1760) attributed. School of Antoine Watteau. Gallant Scene. Relined canvas measuring 81 cm by 54 cm Frame measuring 97 cm by 70 cm The artist presents us with a gallant scene. During a game of Blind Man&39;s Buff, a young man declares his love to a young lady, a Cupid encourages him in this direction. On the right, another young woman with a small dog at her feet seeking her attention. In the background, a very beautiful landscape delicately created in a soft blue atmosphere. Our painting is attributed to Philippe Mercier who, without being a student of Antoine Watteau (he didn&39;t really have one), painted many paintings in the style of Watteau (there are many painters who did it, including Nicolas Lancret, Jean-Baptiste Pater, Pierre Antoine Quillard, Michel Barthélémy Ollivier, Bonaventure de Bar, etc.). Alongside his paintings according to Watteau, he also painted scenes more in the taste of English painting, particularly in the way of painting faces. Philippe Mercier (1689-1760) Philippe Mercier can hardly be considered a French painter. Born in Berlin into a family of French Huguenots, he trained there with Antoine Pesne, who, French by birth, himself spent almost his entire career in Germany. He made a trip to Italy, probably passed through France and settled in London around 1716 and spent the rest of his life there. It is said that he met Watteau during the latter&39;s stay in the English capital around 1720. In any case, Watteau&39;s influence was decisive for Mercier; he became his successor, without strictly speaking being his pupil, and some of Mercier&39;s works could be considered Watteau works: witness The Conjurer in the Louvre, which comes from the La Caze collection, where he bore an attribution to Watteau. In fact, whether in his portraits or in his genre scenes, Mercier accentuates the puppet-like character of Watteau&39;s characters and his art is not unrelated to that of Pietro Longhi, if not even to Hogarth in its somewhat caricatured side. Mercier is poorly represented in French museums; it is in London that one must study him, at the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery. His first conversation pieces, or group portraits, so appreciated by British amateurs, date from 1725-26. He then achieved rapid success and in 1729 became Principal Painter to the Prince of Wales, Frederick, one of the propagators of Rococo in England. He then worked for the royal family (The Prince of Wales and his Sisters, 1733, London, NPG) but lost the favor of the Court in 1736. He then settled in York (1739-1751) and survived without difficulty thanks to his portraits (The Burton Family or Interior Scene with the Squirrel, Paris, Louvre) and his gallant, rural or familiar scenes (The Five Senses, United States, Mellon collection; The Music Session, London, Tate Gal.; The Seamstress, id.; The Young Taster, Paris, Louvre). His works show a direct influence of Watteau (The Conjurer, Paris, Louvre). But they retain a very British character. After a short stay in Portugal (1752), Mercier returned to live in London. It is representative of the numerous Franco-English artistic contacts in the first half of the 18th century.
| ID: | 98018 |
|---|---|
| Condition: | Satisfactory |
| Year of manufacture: | 18th century |
| Size: | 70 x 97 x 6 cm |
| Shipping to: | Worldwide |
| Payment method: | Wire Transfer, Credit card, Cash |
| Delivery method: | Postal service, Courier service, pickup by yourself |
| Purchase returns: | 14 days |
Information about the shop
Address
Antiqon
Brivibas street 52-1B,Riga LV-1011, Latvia
LV-1011 Riga
Latvia
Business hours
Mo closed
Tu
12:00 – 19:30
12:00 – 19:30
We
12:00 – 19:30
12:00 – 19:30
Th
12:00 – 19:30
12:00 – 19:30
Fr
12:00 – 19:30
12:00 – 19:30
Sa
12:00 – 18:00
12:00 – 18:00
Su closed
