Title: A Young Gentleman Tuning a Violin
Date: c.1718-1719
Medium: Black and red chalk on paper
Dimensions:30.5 x 15.2 cm
Credit Line: Purchased, 1891
Object Number: NGI.2301
DescriptionMusical themes appear frequently in Watteau's paintings. He often depicted elegant people gathered around a musician in a parkland setting. This chalk study displays the artist's skilful powers of observation. Watteau was a master of the technique known as aux trois crayons: a combination of red, black and white chalks, usually on tinted paper.
ProvenancePurchased, Christie's, London, 23 June 1891, Miss James Sale, lot 303
Exhibition HistoryDrawings from the National Gallery of Ireland, Wildenstein, London/New York, 1967
Master European Drawings From the Collection of the National Gallery of Ireland, Ackland Art Museum, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; Colorado Springs Fine Arts Centre, Colorado; Art Gallery, University of Maryland, College Park; Milwaukee Art Museum, Wisconsin; Pierpont Morgan Library, New York; Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indiana; The Minneapolis Museum of Art, Minnesota; The Santa Barbara Museum of Art, California; National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 1983
Antoine Watteau (1684-1721): La Lecon de Musique, Palais de Beaux-Arts, Brussels, 7 February - 12 May 2013