Love in the Italian Theatre

This Love in the Italian Theatre, around 1716, in the Gemäldegalerie Berlin, depicts a scene from the commedia dell'arte tradition that fascinated Watteau. The Italian theatrical tradition's emphasis on improvisation, masking, and physical comedy deeply influenced his artistic vision. Watteau drew deeply on commedia dell'arte traditions he observed in Paris and Valenciennes, giving his theatrical figures a melancholy underpinned by his own awareness of early death from tuberculosis. His Pierr...

The Italian comedians are rendered in their characteristic costumes—Pierrot's white, Harlequin's diamonds, Colombina's dress—creating a vivid chromatic ensemble. The more animated gestures distinguish the Italian tradition from its French counterpart in the companion painting.