Watteau in Time

Ewa Lajer-Burcharth, Harvard University

Jean-Antoine Watteau—whose documentation of soldiers is the focus of the current exhibition—has traditionally been viewed as an artist who found the most eloquent ways to represent his times, whether as a commentator on war, a painter of the elusive culture of the elite class, or the creator of the new conception of the self. This lecture explores the temporal dimensions of his oeuvre while offering an overview of the most significant changes in the understanding of his work.