Elegant Company, Jacques-Philippe Le Bas, after Jean Antoine Watteau, 1717 - 1729
etching, h 317mm × w 365mm More details
When this etching after Watteau’s painting was made, the title La Game d’Amour (The Scale of Love) was added at the bottom. That perfectly summarizes how the artist equated music making with love and seduction. In the foreground a man in theatrical costume plays a guitar, while looking down at a score held up by a woman. Perhaps he is distracted by her décolleté.
