Watteau's Surprise

An 18th-century masterpiece long presumed to have been destroyed has been found languishing in the corner of an English country house. The whereabouts of La Surprise, by the French artist Jean-Antoine Watteau, has been a mystery for almost 200 years. Its existence was known about only because of a 19th-century copy in the Royal Collection at Buckingham Palace. The original's reappearance was described yesterday as extraordinary. It is expected to fetch up to £5 million when it comes to auction at Christie's of London on July 8. Watteau was one of the most brilliant painters of his time. La Surprise, painted in 1718, was one of the relatively few works that he created before his death at the age of 37. The painting of a couple in a passionate embrace was spotted during a routine valuation by Christie's at the country house. James Bruce-Gardyne, Christie's director of Old Master paintings, said: "I've been here for 20-odd years and this is one of the most exciting pictures that we, as a team, have seen come to the market. We all live for this type of picture." The owner, who wishes to remain anonymous, had no idea of the painting's importance when he asked the auctioneers to view a work that he felt sure was by the 17th-century Dutch Master Gerrit Dou. Just as the auctioneers were telling him that the painting was only "School of Dou", their eye was caught by another painting in a corner. "It got everyone excited immediately," Mr Bruce-Gardyne said. "It had literally been sitting there unknown for many, many years." Such is the rarity of Watteau's paintings on the open market, let alone in public collections, that nothing as important has appeared for decades. The £2.42 million record price for his work of is expected to be broken when La Surprise is sold. Jean-Antoine Watteau suffered ill-health throughout his life. He died of tuberculosis in 1721, having travelled to London the previous year to visit Dr Richard Mead, a celebrated physician, in the hope of medical treatment. The London winter proved too much for him, worsening his condition, and he returned to France, where he died. His influence on art was lasting, and he continues to be revered for paintings that feature figures in aristocratic and theatrical dress in idyllic landscapes. Mr Bruce-Gardyne said that Watteau was "an incredibly fragile artist in the way he applied paint", using wonderful transparent, light, feathery touches, as can be seen in La Surprise. The work also reflects the artist's unusual, improvisational method of composing his paintings. Having selected several appropriate figure studies from his many bound books of drawings, Watteau reproduced them in oil paint on canvases where he had already executed a landscape background. He adjusted the groups of figures to harmonize with the landscape setting. Radiographs of the underpaint reveal another figure, which the artist subsequently painted over. The final composition shows a parkland paradise, as the sun begins to set, with the amorous couple watched by an actor from the Comédie Italienne and his pet dog. La Surprise was first owned by an adviser to the French King, who was one of Watteau's closest friends. In the turmoil of the French Revolution the painting disappeared, surfacing in England in the mid-19th century, with the family of the present owners.