Some people find Watteau’s paintings a little sugary; I can sympathise with that but strongly recommend this exhibition of his drawings which reveals more depth. I was amazed at how small some of them were with such precision and lightness of touch.
His use of only 3 colours: red, black and white might seem restrictive in theory but is so expressive in practice. Look at the way he depicts the stripes in this dress below.
It is said that Watteau preferred drawing to painting as it was more immediate. I have to agree with him there.
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