Antoine Watteau is renowned for the liveliness of his painterly style, the spontaneous qualities of his scenes, and the spectacle of the Parisian social life depicted in his small-scale oil paintings. His palette is flamboyant, and the brushstrokes have the immediacy and richness of slightly tipsy ornamentation. It seems that his technique suits the celebration of the ancient regime of social gatherings. Such an image marginalised Watteau’s drawings in the common consciousness, and it is this understanding that the current Royal Academy exhibition sets out to adjust.

The show intends to illustrate Watteau’s drawings chronologically from early studies to more advanced three-colour drawings, which exhibit his impeccable sense of line as well as colour. He showed a talent for careful composition combined with an immediacy of touch that positioned him among the finest of draughtsmen. Studies of the Persian delegation to the French court are concise reportages. Watteau successfully used a limited palette to convey the ephemeral qualities of his human figures.

Although the quality of the work speaks for itself, the curators could have illustrated more aspects of Watteau’s drawing, perhaps showing studies alongside more finished works. It is difficult to get a sense of the status of the different works from the exhibition, as there is no visible attempt to explain how they were viewed and exhibited at the time. A chronological division of material also does not shed light on the functions and varying degree of finish of the drawings.

It is illuminating to see the surprising quality of drawings by an artist considered a colourist par excellence. Such a stunning collection of work in this small exhibition has nevertheless been a somewhat wasted curatorial opportunity. A look at Watteau’s drawings in the context of their function and audience would prove equally aesthetically pleasing, and perhaps more engaging.

Until Jun 5

JAKUB KOGUKIUK