His varied, abundant output of small illustrative scenes, appreciated in private circles and among the Paris bourgeoisie, testified to the late-seventeenth-century emergence of an early rococo style, full of inventiveness, poetry and strangeness. Aloof from the official art of the court in Versailles, his work reflected dynamic developments in the commedia dell’arte, fables and theatre.

By bringing together some one hundred works, this show seeks to demonstrate that drawing, in its technical diversity, was Gillot’s favoured means of expression – his painted work, in contrast, is rare, being limited to a dozen canvases, some of which raise questions of attribution.

Curators: Hélène Meyer, curator in the Department of Prints and Drawings, and Xavier Salmon, director of the Department of Prints and Drawings, Musée du Louvre.