January and February (part of a set illustrating the months of the year)

January and February (part of a set illustrating the months of the year)

Antoine Watteau

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

One of a set of panels (22.225.1–6) which probably formed a set of decoration for a room. Each panel represents two months of the year, depicting astrological signs and occupations appropriate to the seasons. January and February are represented by an old man and Harlequin warming themselves in front of a fire, above, and a skater, below. The figures of Pierrot, Harlequin and a putto with a tambourine allude to Carnival.

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

January and February (part of a set illustrating the months of the year)January and February (part of a set illustrating the months of the year)January and February (part of a set illustrating the months of the year)January and February (part of a set illustrating the months of the year)January and February (part of a set illustrating the months of the year)

The fifty thousand objects in the Museum's comprehensive and historically important collection of European sculpture and decorative arts reflect the development of a number of art forms in Western European countries from the early fifteenth through the early twentieth century. The holdings include sculpture in many sizes and media, woodwork and furniture, ceramics and glass, metalwork and jewelry, horological and mathematical instruments, and tapestries and textiles. Ceramics made in Asia for export to European markets and sculpture and decorative arts produced in Latin America during this period are also included among these works.