Hand aan een borst 1705 - 1721

Jean-Antoine Watteau rendered this drawing in red chalk. Here, a hand gently cups a breast, a motif laden with layers of meaning. This gesture is not unique to Watteau; we see its echoes across art history. Consider ancient fertility figures, where hands often cradle the breasts, symbolizing nourishment and life-giving abundance. Later, in Renaissance paintings, the touch becomes more intimate, representing sensuality and maternal love. It is a gesture rooted in the human experience, signifying care, desire, and the very essence of life. The image strikes an instinctive chord within us. It taps into our collective unconscious, a realm where primal memories and archetypal symbols reside. The recurring motif of a hand on a breast becomes a vessel through which these universal themes are constantly reinterpreted and revived.