Antoine Watteau: the drawings

Antoine Watteau (1684-1721) produced some of the most seductive drawings in Western art. This book, published to accompany an exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts, London, reproduces his finest examples, revealing the delicacy and freedom of execution that so impressed early commentators and had such a profound effect on subsequent generations of artists, notably Francois Boucher and Jean-Honore Fragonard. Well-known art historians Pierre Rosenberg and Louis-Antoine Prat examine these masterly studies, focusing on the artist´s development as a draftsman, the techniques that he perfected, and the fascinating role that drawing played in his work. The illustrations, which include recently discovered works, are superbly reproduced.