The Surprise (Watteau)

The Surprise is a c. 1718 oil on panel painting by Antoine Watteau, showing a man dressed as Mezzetino playing a guitar whilst a couple embrace and a small dog watches.

It was a pendant to Perfect Harmony (Los Angeles County Museum of Art). Both works were originally owned by Nicolas Hénin, but they were sold separately by his heir, who published an engraving of both works. Surprise then disappeared between 1770 and 1848 and again between 1848 and 2007. The original was rediscovered in March 2008 in a British country house and had been in that family's collection since 1848. It was sold for 15 million Euros at Christie's in London on 8 July 2008.

Further reading
  • Camesasca, Ettore, ed. (1971). The Complete Painting of Watteau. Classics of the World's Great Art. Introduction by John Sutherland. New York: Harry N. Abrams. p. 112, cat. no. 144. ISBN 0810955253. OCLC 143069 – via the Internet Archive.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.