The Clothes are Italian (1715–16): Art, History and Details

The Clothes are Italian (1715–16) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Jean-Antoine Watteau (French, 1684–1721); Charles Simonneau (French, 1645–1728).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Actors dressed as stock characters from the Italian commedia dell’arte and the French popular theater take their final bow in this print. Known for their comic plots and improvisational satire, the Italian players were banned in France from 1697 until 1716 after one of their productions was thought to criticize King Louis XIV’s mistress. Still in demand with French audiences, some of the characters and stories were adapted into the less regulated performances. Before the print’s publication, Jean-Antoine Watteau’s etched composition was finished by professional engraver Charles Simonneau. While Simonneau’s precise dots and crosshatched lines clarify the details of the print, the spontaneity and freedom of Watteau’s etched lines better express the sense of whimsy and play that characterizes the subject matter.

Object facts

• Title: The Clothes are Italian
• Date: 1715–16
• Creator attribution: Jean-Antoine Watteau (French, 1684–1721); Charles Simonneau (French, 1645–1728)
• Culture: France
• Type: Print
• Technique: etching and engraving
• Dimensions: Platemark: 30.5 x 21.3 cm (12 x 8 3/8 in.); Sheet: 37.2 x 26.9 cm (14 5/8 x 10 9/16 in.)
• Collection: PR - Etching
• Department: Prints
• Accession number: 2011.11

A detail from the museum

Jean-Antoine Watteau’s compositions often reference theater and music.

Collection credit

Dudley P. Allen Fund

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.