La Surprise

La Surprise is a compact masterpiece of the fête galante, the poetic genre Watteau made his own: figures at leisure in a park, part celebration and part elegy. The picture reappeared in 2008 after more than a century in private hands and was recognised as one of the finest of the artist’s small cabinet paintings. Watteau, formed in the theatrical world of the commedia dell’arte, peopled his parklands with borrowed stage types whose melancholy quietly undercuts their charm. The panel, 36.4 × 28.2 cm, is held by the J. Paul Getty Museum.