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QUILLARD, Pierre-Antoine - b. ~1700 Paris, d. 1733 Lisbon - WGA

QUILLARD, Pierre-Antoine

(b. ~1700 Paris, d. 1733 Lisbon)

French painter, draughtsman and engraver, active in Portugal. He received, reportedly from the age of 11, an annual pension from the Abbé de Fleury, tutor to Louis XV. He may already have started work by this time in the Paris studio of Watteau, copying his master’s drawings and perhaps also painting portions of his canvases. Given Watteau’s temperamental instability, it seems unlikely that he stayed there long.

Quillard produced a fair number of fêtes galantes in the style of Watteau, ranging from the lyricism of such paintings as the Four Seasons (Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid) to an unusual pre-Romantic style with surging figures and dramatically twisted trees, as in Dance among the Ruins (Hermitage, St. Petersburg).

He failed twice at the Prix de Rome, in 1723 against Carle van Loo and in 1724 against Boucher. Disappointed by his failures, he moved to Portugal where he became a Court Painter. There, his paintings in the style of Watteau were highly sought after. His later works suggest the influence of François Lemoyne and Nicolas Lancret.

He died young at 33.

Amorous Couples in a Garden Setting
Amorous Couples in a Garden Setting by

Amorous Couples in a Garden Setting

In this Rococo scene amorous couples are depicted in a garden setting, a group making music beyond. The companion piece of this painting (in the same private collection) shows an elegantly dressed group relaxing in a garden setting.

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Elegantly Dressed Group in a Garden Setting
Elegantly Dressed Group in a Garden Setting by

Elegantly Dressed Group in a Garden Setting

In this Rococo scene an elegantly dressed group is depicted as relaxing in a garden setting. The companion piece of this painting (in the same private collection) shows amorous couples also in a garden setting.

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