WATTEAU, Jean-Antoine
(b. 1684, Valenciennes, d. 1721, Nogent-sur-Marne)

L'Indifférent

c. 1717
Oil on panel, 25 x 19 cm
Musée du Louvre, Paris

The painting is also known as The Casual Lover. Shining folds of silk give the figure of carefree young man a delightful shimmer appropriate to his pose. He is about to execute a dance step. Watteau was always drawn to the inaugural moment of an action.

The surface of this small panel suffered from clumsy restoration.