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Charlotte Mason Picture Study Aid Antoine Watteau

The Portal of Valenciennes

ca. 1710–11
oil on canvas
32.4 x 40.6 cm
The Frick Collection, New York
KEY TOPICS:

• The scene depicted took place in Valenciennes, France, Watteau’s birthplace. There are

several soldiers standing, sitting, or lying on the ground while they recover after a battle has

taken place. A night guard can be seen on the left and the drummer can be seen in the
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darker coat sitting with his back to the viewer with his drum and a dog next to him.
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• The main structure behind them, presumed to be the city gate with the royal coat of arms

higher up on the wall (and a pike, which was an outdated weapon at the time, pointing at
it), appears to be damaged due to the skirmish that has just ended. Theories exist that this
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was an attempt by Watteau to make a statement about the vanities of war as the city had

been rebuilt only 23 years earlier after another battle.
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• If you look closely at the corners of the painting, you can see that the piece was originally

painted in an oval format with the corners looking slightly different than the center of the
piece. It is thought that this may have been a part of a series of military paintings done by

Watteau as they all shared the same oval shape (the other two are The Halt and The Line of

March).
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1 (Kaiser)
2 (Bailey, Conisbee and Gaehtgens)
3 (Lauterbach)

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