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The Embarrassing Proposal

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The Embarrassing Proposal
ArtistJean-Antoine Watteau
Yearca. 1715–1716
CatalogueH 130 (132); G 158; DV 274; R 129; HA 142; EC 146; RM 189
Mediumoil on canvas
Dimensions65 cm × 84.5 cm (26 in × 33.3 in)
LocationThe Hermitage, Saint Petersburg
AccessionГЭ-1150

The Embarrassing Proposal is a 1715-1716 painting by Antoine Watteau. It was part of Heinrich von Brühl's collection in Dresden before being purchased in 1769 under Catherine II of Russia for the Hermitage Museum, in Saint Petersburg, where it still hangs.

It shows a landscape with three young women and two young gallants. X-ray examination has shown the canvas was previously used for a composition with four people, including a woman playing a guitar and a young man, in the position now occupied by the three seated figures.

Exhibition history

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List of major exhibitions featuring the work
Year Title Location Cat. no. References
Primary Secondary
1955 An Exhibition of French Art of the 15th-20th Centuries Pushkin Museum, Moscow * [1] [2]
1956 An Exhibition of French Art of the 12th-20th Centuries Hermitage Museum, Leningrad * [3]
1972 Watteau and His Time Hermitage Museum, Leningrad 4 [4]
1984–1985 Watteau 1684–1721 National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; Galeries nationales du Grand Palais, Paris; Charlottenburg Palace, Berlin P. 39 [5]
1988 French Paintings from the USSR National Gallery, London 2 [2]
2005–2006 Russia! Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York City 44 [6]
"*" denotes an unnumbered entry.

References

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  1. ^ Antonova, I. A.; Berezina, V. N.; Borovaya, T. A.; et al. (1955). Выставка французского искусства XV-XX вв. Каталог (in Russian). With introduction by V. Prokofiev [ru]. Moscow: Iskusstvo. p. 24.
  2. ^ a b Deryabina, E. V. (1988). "Jean-Antoine Watteau (1684–1721), La Proposition embarrasante (The Embarrassing Proposal)". In Babin, A. A.; Suslov, V. A. (eds.). French Paintings from the USSR: Watteau to Matisse. Catalogue translated by Irene Gore and Catherine Matthews. London: The Gallery. pp. 34–35, catalogue note no. 2. ISBN 0947645551. OCLC 1035139931 – via the Internet Archive.
  3. ^ The Hermitage Museum, Leningrad (1956). Выставка французского искусства XII-XX вв. (1956; Ленинград). Каталог (in Russian). Moscow: Iskusstvo. p. 12.
  4. ^ Hermitage Museum, Leningrad (1972). Ватто и его время (in Russian). Leningrad: Avrora. pp. 14–15, 20. OCLC 990348938.
  5. ^ Grasselli, Rosenberg & Parmantier 1984, pp. 340–341.
  6. ^ Niichel, Scott (2005). "44. Jean-Antoine Watteau (1684–1721), An Embarrassing Proposal". Russia! (catalogue of the exhibition at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, and the Guggenheim Hermitage Museum, Las Vegas). New York: Guggenheim Museum, DAP. p. 13, cat. no. 44. ISBN 0-89207-331-4. OCLC 607728025 – via the Internet Archive.

Bibliography

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