In this artwork, how is the abstract discussed?
The Chord (L'Accord), alternatively known as The Serenader (Le Donneur de sérénades) and Mezzetino (Mézetin), is an oil on panel painting in the Musée Condé, Chantilly, by the French Rococo painter Antoine Watteau, variously dated c. 1714–1717. Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, The Chord passed through numerous private collections, until it came into possession of Henri d'Orléans, Duke of Aumale, son of King Louis Philippe I; as part of the Duke of Aumale's collection at the Château de Chantilly, The Chord was bequeathed to the Institut de France in 1884.
At 24 by 17 cm, the painting forms a single-figure full-length composition that depicts a male guitarist in theatrical costume, sitting amid the landscape. The guitarist, widely associated with the commedia dell'arte character Mezzetino, is a recurring subject in Watteau's art; based on a red and black chalk drawing owned by the Louvre, it is also present in two other paintings by Watteau, The Surprise (now in the Getty Museum, Los Angeles) and Pleasures of Love (now in the Alte Meister Gallery, Dresden).
Château de Chantilly Dresden Institut de France Antoine Watteau French F Rococo Chantilly Alte Meister Gallery Mezzetino Louis Philippe I oil Los Angeles Henri d'Orléans, Duke of Aumale commedia dell'arte on panel G The Surprise oil on panel painting Louvre Musée Condé French Rococo Getty Museum