Titelprent met het portret van Jean Antoine Watteau 1726

This is Francois Boucher's etched portrait of Jean-Antoine Watteau, now held at the Rijksmuseum. Look at Watteau, poised with a quill in hand, seemingly caught in a moment of creative contemplation. The quill itself is a potent symbol. Since antiquity, the image of the writer or artist holding a stylus has represented intellectual and creative prowess. Consider the ancient Greek depictions of muses, or even the evangelists holding their quills in illuminated manuscripts. Each time, the quill signifies a conduit between thought and expression. It suggests a divine inspiration channeling through the artist. Observe the shift through history, from sacred texts to secular art; the quill moves from transcribing divine will to capturing the nuances of human experience. This evolution mirrors humanity's own journey as we seek to understand our place in the cosmos. It also reflects the shifting power of representation, from the gods to the self. In Boucher's portrait, the tool becomes an emblem of individual genius, a spark of creative vitality forever captured in ink.