46 - Clown
15 februari 2005
Watteau's Pierrot
Pierrot (also known as Gilles) by Watteau, Antoine (1684-1721)
c. 1718-19; Oil on canvas; 184 x 149 cm; Musée du Louvre, Paris
Commedia dell'arte originated around 1550 in Lombardy, evolving as street theatre in which improvised pieces based on stock situations were performed by troupes of specially trained actors. All that was prearranged were synopses of the plot and the sequence of scenes. Consisting mainly of clowning and jokes, the dialogue was entirely improvised. Although a couple in love belonged to the stock repertoire, the other characters were burlesque types, instantly recognisable because they always appeared in the same masks and costumes: Pantalone - an elderly Venetian merchant, the doctor, a scholar of Bologna and Arlecchmo, and his crafty man-servant, whose awkward and melancholy side soon became personified as a separate character called Pedrolino.
After Commedia dell'Arte had become established in France at courts, fairs and in the streets, Pedrolino changed into a pitiable fool, who might be called either Pierrot or Gilles, This character represented the rejected lover, who was always sad. He was characterised by a distinctive white, wide-sleeved costume, a white mask and a wide white beret.
Watteau may have painted it as a sign for the café run by the former actor, Belloni, who made his name as a Pierrot. The model, a friend or another actor, is unknown. Standing with his arms dangling at his sides, with a dreamy, naive look on his face, the moonstruck Pierrot stands out monumentally against a leafy Italianate background. At the foot of the mound, are four half-hidden figures--the Doctor on his donkey, Léandre, Isabelle and the Capitaine--
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