ID: 700009299 Page link: http://vocab.getty.edu/page/cona/700009299	Record Type: Movable Work
Images: 1

La Surprise (painting (visual work); Jean-Antoine Watteau (French, 1684 - 1721); 1718 - 1719; J. Paul Getty Museum (Los Angeles, Los Angeles county, Calif...; 2017.72)

Note: In a verdant park at sunset, a young woman abandons herself to her tousle-haired companion’s ardent embrace. Coiled up in a pose of centrifugal energy, the impulsive lovers are oblivious to the third figure: Mezzetin, sitting on the same rocky outcrop. Drawn from the theatrical tradition of the commedia dell’arte, this character represents a poignant foil to the couple’s unbridled passion. Introverted and with a melancholy air, he tunes his guitar, knowing that his serenading will mean nothing to the lovers and serve only to heighten his own sense of lonely longing as he gazes upon them. His costume, a rose-coloured jacket and knee-britches slashed with yellow and adorned with blue ribbons as well as a lace ruff and cuffs, is reminiscent of the paintings of Anthony van Dyck. The small dog at lower right, a quotation from Rubens, watches the couple with considerably more appreciation than Mezzetin can muster.

Titles:

La Surprise (preferred,C,U,RP,French-P,U,U,English-P,L,U)

Lovers and a Musician (C,U,CO,English,U,U)

La Surprise (The Surprise) (C,U,RD,undetermined,U,U)

Catalog Level: item

Work Types:

painting (visual work) [300033618] (preferred)

..... (Objects Facet, Visual and Verbal Communication (hierarchy name), Visual Works (hierarchy name), visual works (works), <visual works by material or technique>)

Classifications:

paintings (preferred)

Creation Date: 1718 - 1719

Creator Display:

Jean-Antoine Watteau (French, 1684 - 1721) [preferred]

painter Watteau (French painter, draftsman, 1684-1721) [500032644]

Locations:

Current: J. Paul Getty Museum (Los Angeles, Los Angeles county, California, United States) [500115988] J. Paul Getty Trust, Corporate Bodies (Corp. Body)

Repository Numbers: 2017.72

Other: Creation: France [1000070] Europe (continent), World (facet) (Geographic)

Display Materials: oil on panel

	oil paint (paint) [300015050]
	.......(Materials Facet, Materials (hierarchy name), materials (substances), <materials by function>, coating (material), <coating by form>, paint (coating), <paint by composition or origin>)

	panel (wood by form) [300014657]
	.......(Materials Facet, Materials (hierarchy name), materials (substances), <materials by origin>, biological material, plant material, <wood and wood by product>, wood (plant material), <wood by form or function>)

Dimensions: 36.4 × 28.2 cm (14 5/16 × 11 1/8 in.)

Cultures:

French (preferred)

General Subject:

human figures (preferred)

genre

Specific Subjects:

	lovers [300188621]
	.....(Agents Facet, People (hierarchy name), people (agents), <people by activity>) (AAT)

	musician [300025666]
	.....(Agents Facet, People (hierarchy name), people (agents), <people by occupation>, <people in the humanities>, <people in the arts and related occupations>, <people in the arts>, <people in the performing arts>) (AAT)

	surprise (event) [300417323]
	.....(Activities Facet, Events (hierarchy name), events (activities), personal life events) (AAT)

List/Hierarchical Position:

..... Movable Works

.......... Movable Works by class: drawings, paintings, prints, other two-dimensional media

Sources and Contributors:
La Surprise	........ [JPGM,VP]
	........ J. Paul Getty Museum, collections online (2000-) accessed 31 January 2018
Lovers and a Musician	........ [VP]
	........ J. Paul Getty Museum, collections online (2000-)
La Surprise (The Surprise)	........ [VP]
	........ J. Paul Getty Museum, collections online (2000-)

Subject: ....... [VP]

Note:
English	..... [VP]
	..... J. Paul Getty Museum, collections online (2000-) accessed 31 January 2018