Taglia Cantoni and Fracasso

Taglia Cantoni and Fracasso, painted in 1742, depicts two swaggering military characters from the commedia dell'arte — the improvised Italian theatrical tradition that had spread across Europe by the seventeenth century. De Clermont was a French-born painter working in England who produced an extensive series of commedia dell'arte panels for the Lansdowne House decoration, providing the English aristocracy with images of the Italianate theatrical characters fashionable in London's public theaters and private entertainments. The commedia military figures — bragging captains who are cowards beneath their bluster — were among the most satirically pointed character types, lampooning the pretensions of professional soldiers.

De Clermont renders the theatrical figures in a clear, decorative style with precise outlines and flat color areas. The military costumes with their exaggerated elements are depicted with careful attention to period theatrical convention, while the balanced composition is designed to function as architectural decoration.