The Clothes are Italian

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.