The Dreamer (La Rêveuse)
Jean Antoine Watteau
1712–1714
- Medium
- Oil on panel
- Dimensions
- 23.2 × 17 cm (9 1/8 × 6 11/16 in.); Framed: 35 × 28.9 × 7 cm (13 3/4 × 11 3/8 × 2 3/4 in.)
- Genre
- oil on panel
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago
Styles
Tags
oil paintings (visual works)paintingfansTurkeypaintleavesheaddressesportraits: female subjectoil on paneldreamsplant materialSkyfrenchportraitpanel paintingtheateroil paint (paint)painting (image making)painting techniqueswood (plant material)landscapelandscapesorganic materialbushesportraitsoil paintingcostumetreespanel (wood)european paintingfoliage18th Century
About
The traditional title of this small painting, The Dreamer, derives from an engraving made after it, which was intended for sale to a wider audience. The work is one of a number of small figure paintings by Jean-Antoine Watteau in which the subject’s clothing was inspired by contemporary theater. Here, the woman wears a pseudo-Turkish costume, which reflects the Western European vogue for Turkish culture (“turquerie”) at that time. Watteau’s uniquely delicate, sensitive, and intimate style influenced a number of other painters throughout the 18th century.
