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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Main Author: Vanessa Alayrac-Fielding
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Université de Bourgogne 2024-06-01
Series:Interfaces
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/interfaces/8525
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author Vanessa Alayrac-Fielding
author_facet Vanessa Alayrac-Fielding
author_sort Vanessa Alayrac-Fielding
collection DOAJ
description 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.
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spelling doaj-art-a4bd1c2d2bc94701bd6569f8b1f6372f2025-08-20T03:10:38ZengUniversité de BourgogneInterfaces2647-67542024-06-015110.4000/122diDe la fête galante à la conversation entre les genres : la place de Philip Mercier dans l’évolution de l’art du portrait en AngleterreVanessa Alayrac-FieldingThe 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.https://journals.openedition.org/interfaces/8525Watteau (Antoine)Mercier (Philip)fêtes galantesportraitureconversation piecefancy pictures
spellingShingle Vanessa Alayrac-Fielding
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
Interfaces
Watteau (Antoine)
Mercier (Philip)
fêtes galantes
portraiture
conversation piece
fancy pictures
title 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
title_full 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
title_fullStr 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
title_full_unstemmed 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
title_short 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
title_sort de la fete galante a la conversation entre les genres la place de philip mercier dans l evolution de l art du portrait en angleterre
topic Watteau (Antoine)
Mercier (Philip)
fêtes galantes
portraiture
conversation piece
fancy pictures
url https://journals.openedition.org/interfaces/8525
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