Le donneur de sérénades 

Jean-Antoine Watteau made this painting of a serenading guitarist. The commedia dell'arte figure here represents a fantasy of harmonious aristocratic life, typical of early 18th-century France. Watteau was a painter of fêtes galantes - "gallant festivals," which were celebrations enjoyed by elites of the time. Aristocrats and the upwardly mobile bourgeoisie had a strong interest in commissioning these works. His paintings were very popular with the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture. The institution was an active participant in shaping French taste. Note how the serenade itself represents a ritualized game of courtship. It's not just about the music, but about power, class, and social expectations. Watteau seems to be critiquing the artificiality of these social rituals. To understand this painting fully, we must delve into the art criticism of the period and the history of the Academy to reveal the social conditions that shaped artistic production in the era of the French Rococo.