The famous painting Gilles by Antoine Watteau, a painter and draftsman, the founder of the Rococo, is a portrait of the well-known hero of the commedia dell’arte Piero, whom the French called Gilles. Here he is depicted outside the theater, separated from the rest of the comedians and is not one of the masks, but a person independent of his companions.

Gilles stands on a small hill, due to which, in combination with a low horizon line, his figure seems to soar up and acquire monumentality. The canvas turns from genre to portrait and reveals the inner drama of the hero. He does not act, but is like this in life: lonely among friends, a stranger among his own constant companions.

This is emphasized by their presence, they are busy with their conversations and are at a different level of emotional and spiritual development, as far from the experiences of the hero as the stone statue of a faun guarding part of the park. There is no performance – and there is no need to act. Lowering his arms limply and looking at the viewer, he is ridiculous and pathetic at the same time in his white robe with red bows on his shoes. In his eyes sounds a silent request for either help or love. The painting “Gilles” is perhaps the most famous work of Watteau.