De la fête galante à la conversation entre les genres : la place de Philip Mercier dans l’évolution de l’art du portrait en Angleterre

The painter Philip(pe) Mercier, the son of a French Huguenot family living in Berlin, arrived in London in 1716 after undertaking a grand tour of Italy and France. A versatile painter who produced works belonging to different genres, ranging from genre scenes and fêtes galantes to conversation paint...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Vanessa Alayrac-Fielding
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Université de Bourgogne 2024-06-01
Series:Interfaces
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Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/interfaces/8525
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Summary:The painter Philip(pe) Mercier, the son of a French Huguenot family living in Berlin, arrived in London in 1716 after undertaking a grand tour of Italy and France. A versatile painter who produced works belonging to different genres, ranging from genre scenes and fêtes galantes to conversation paintings, portraits and fancy pictures, Philip Mercier used his knowledge of Antoine Watteau’s work to launch his career in London, often imitating the master’s recognisable style. This paper proposes to investigate the stylistic evolution of Mercier’s career in England, from the influence of Watteau on his work to his production of fancy pictures. Philip Mercier’s works will be discussed in relation to the economic and cultural context of mid-eighteenth-century Britain to show the ways in which the painter capitalised on the fashion for new aesthetics and Lockean epistemology to suit the taste of his patrons.
ISSN:2647-6754