Antoine Watteau (1684-1721), Watteau incarnates all the grace, all the intelligence, all the poetry of the eighteenth century, when French tastes were triumphant throughout the whole of Europe. He is well known as one of the key figures of Rococo art. He excels in scenes of everyday life and theatrical costumes. His world is indeed highly artificial, depicting some melancholy under apparent frivolity, reflecti ng the deep sense of love beyond the pleasure of the flesh, the enigmatic atmosphere brooding over his landscapes and the drooping glance of lovers’ eyes. He alone possessed that genius for colour which conveys a sense of softness and mystery, a sense of music everywhere; that vigorous draughtsmanship which proclaims him equal to the greatest; that natural poetry arising from the dreams.