Jed Perl's 'Antonie's Alphabet: Watteau and His World' Reviewed by David Carrier

David Carrier critiques Jed Perl's 2008 book 'Antonie's Alphabet: Watteau and His World,' published by Alfred A. Knopf in New York. Carrier argues that Perl's approach, like that of Tim Clark in a recent book on Poussin, relies too heavily on personal interpretation, treating Watteau's images as mirrors of his own life and intellectual interests. He contrasts this with Norman Bryson's 1981 work 'Word and Image,' which offers a plausible explanation for why Watteau's art inspires reverie, whereas Perl engages in fantasy. The review notes Perl's discussion of Walter Pater's 1885 essay 'A Price of Court Painters' as a precedent, but finds Perl's subjective commentary less effective for understanding historically distant artists. Carrier highlights Perl's association of Watteau's art with his grandparents' Brooklyn house as a point where the analysis becomes unconvincing. The book is 207 pages long, priced at $25 in cloth, with ISBN 978-0-307-2662-0. Carrier acknowledges the engaging nature of both Perl's and Clark's books but questions their methodological value.