Les Champs Elisées c. 1720 - 1721

Jean-Antoine Watteau painted Les Champs Elysées in France, likely in the late 1710s, during the reign of Louis XIV. This work embodies the fêtes galantes style for which Watteau is known. These scenes of courtship and leisure were popular among the French Aristocracy. The aristocracy wished to see themselves represented as refined and elegant. But Watteau's paintings of aristocrats are not always celebrations of the elite. We can see his figures are often melancholy, restless, and lost in thought, which suggests a quiet critique of the social structures of the time. Watteau often turned to the Comédie-Italienne, a form of satirical theatre, for inspiration, and the painting might allude to broader political and cultural commentaries. To fully appreciate Watteau, one must consider the broader history of artistic patronage and the cultural institutions that shaped artistic taste. By consulting historical records, letters, and other primary sources, we can gain a deeper understanding of the social and political forces that influenced Watteau's work.