Artwork Page for The Guitarist

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The Guitarist

1720s

Jean-Baptiste Pater

(French, 1695–1736)
Culture
France, 18th century
Medium
red chalk
Credit Line
Dudley P. Allen Fund 1933.416
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Did You Know?

Jean-Baptiste Pater worried excessively about his finances and made a prolific number of artworks as a result, with the intention of selling them.

Description

Like his illustrious master, Watteau, Jean-Baptiste Pater specialized in fêtes galantes, paintings that featured elegantly attired men and women in bucolic settings engaged in decorously amorous play. Also like his teacher, Pater worked out his preliminary ideas in red chalk studies. During the 17th century, guitar virtuosos from Italy and Spain made their way to the court of Louis XIV, and by the 18th century, the instrument had become integrated into French culture of gallantry and featured prominently in fêtes galantes.
A horizontally oriented red chalk drawing on off-white paper features several sketches. In the center, a man reclines and holds a guitar across his lap, facing right. Above him, a faint sketch shows another figure with a guitar. In the lower right corner, a person wearing a wide-brimmed hat and a ruffled cloak faces left. Delicate hatching and varying line weights create soft shadows and volume across the figures.

The Guitarist

1720s

Jean-Baptiste Pater

(French, 1695–1736)
France, 18th century

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