La Sculpture (Sculpture), plate 169 from Jean de Jullienne's L'OŒuvre d'Antoine Watteau (The Works of Antoine Watteau) also known as the Recueil Jullienne

Inscriptions

Inscribed, in plate, lower left: Watteau Pinxit; inscribed, in plate, lower center: LA SCULPTURE. / Ce Singe Industrieux qui Travaille en Sculpture / Peut de l'Art qu'il exerce estre dit l'inventeur: / On ne peut estre bon Sculpteur / Qu'en se faisant SInge de la Nature. / AParis [AP in ligature] Chez Duchange Graveur du roy, rue S.t [t in superscript] Jacques; inscribed, in plate, lower right: Desplaces Sculp. [Translated text: This industrious monkey who works in sculpture / Can be called the inventor of the art he practices / One can only be a good sculptor / By acting in the nature of a monkey]

Label

L’Oeuvre d’Antoine Watteau was one of the first comprehensive records of an artist’s work, and the collection of prints after paintings by the Rococo painter Jean-Antoine Watteau helped to spread the artist’s distinctive style throughout Europe. The present print is based on Watteau’s The Monkey Sculptor, painted in 1710, in which Watteau satirized amateur art-making by replacing the human artist with an untrained primate. Despite his fine clothes and proper tools, the monkey is a moment away from disaster. While a trained artist would use light, delicate motions while working on a nearly complete sculpture, the monkey pulls back with the mallet, about to hammer the chisel with full force. The bust of a young woman turns away, unable to escape the blow that will undoubtedly crack her neck.

From the 2024 exhibition Living with Sculpture: Presence and Power in Europe, 1400–1750, curated by Elizabeth Rice Mattison, Andrew W. Mellon Curator of Academic Programming and Curator of European Art, and Ashley B. Offill, Curator of Collections

Course History

ANTH 12.4, Your Inner Chimpanzee, Kes Schroer, Spring 2014

ANTH 12.4, Your Inner Chimpanzee, Kes Schroer, Spring 2014

ANTH 12.4, Your Inner Chimpanzee, Kes Schroer, Winter 2015

ANTH 12.4, Your Inner Chimpanzee, Kes Schroer, Winter 2015

German 16.01, Jewish Studies 25.03, Curious George: A Secret History, Yuliya Komska, Fall 2023

History 42.01, Women's Gender, and Sexuality Studies 22.01, Gender & European Society, Patrick Meehan, Spring 2024

History 96.39, Saints and Relics, Cecilia Gaposchkin, Spring 2024

Italian 1.01, Introductory Italian I, Noemi Perego, Spring 2024

Italian 11.01, Intensive Italian, Floriana Ciniglia, Spring 2024

Italian 2.01, Introductory Italian II, Floriana Ciniglia, Spring 2024

Italian 3.01, Introductory Italian III, Tania Convertini, Spring 2024

Italian 3.02, Introductory Italian III, Giorgio Alberti, Spring 2024

Exhibition History

Living with Sculpture: Presence and Power in Europe, 1400–1750, Citrin Family Gallery and Engles Family Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, March 23, 2024–March 22, 2025.

Provenance

Leo Steinberg, New York; sold to present collection, 2004.

Catalogue Raisonne

Goncourt (1875): 21; Dacier & Vuaflart (1921-29): 167

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