Italian Comedians by a Fountain

Nicolas Lancret's Italian Comedians by a Fountain of around 1717 depicts characters from the Commedia dell'Arte — the Italian theatre tradition whose masked characters had influenced French theatrical life since the sixteenth century — gathered in a garden setting that reflects the influence of Watteau, whose pupil and follower Lancret effectively was. The painting demonstrates both Lancret's technical accomplishment and the limitations of his relationship to Watteau's example: the theatrical characters are precisely observed and elegantly arranged, but they lack the melancholic depth that made Watteau's comedians so memorable.

Lancret renders the theatrical figures with a bright, decorative palette and confident brushwork derived from Watteau. The careful rendering of the elaborate costumes and the garden setting demonstrate his skill in the fête galante genre.