Chinese Musician, Edme Jeaurat, after Jean Antoine Watteau, 1731
etching, h 240mm × w 173mm More details
Watteau’s repertoire was not limited to European musicians and instruments. He also made a series of decorative paintings featuring Chinese fantasy figures, including a woman with a stringed instrument, as seen in this etching after one of his works. Watteau may have been inspired by images on porcelain objects and prints from China collected in Europe around 1720. The instrument, however, is depicted with little concern for musical accuracy.
