Editing Pierrot (section)

===France===
[[File:Jean-Antoine Watteau - Pierrot, dit autrefois Gilles.jpg|thumb|[[Antoine Watteau]]: ''Gilles (or Pierrot) and Four Other Characters of the Commedia dell'Arte'', {{circa|1718}}. Musée du Louvre, Paris.]]
[[File:Les acteurs de la Comédie italienne - Nicolas Lancret - Louvre.jpg|thumb|[[Nicolas Lancret]]: ''Actors of the Comédie-Italienne'', between 1716 and 1736. Musée du Louvre, Paris.]]
[[File:Jean-Honoré Fragonard - A Boy as Pierrot - WGA08079.jpg|thumb|[[Jean-Honoré Fragonard]]: ''A Boy as Pierrot'', between 1776 and 1780. The Wallace Collection, London.]]
An Italian company was called back to Paris in 1716, and Pierrot was reincarnated by the actors Pierre-François Biancolelli (son of the Harlequin of the banished troupe of players) and, after Biancolelli abandoned the role, the celebrated [[Fabio Sticotti]] (1676–1741) and his son [[Antoine Jean Sticotti|Antoine Jean]] (1715–1772).<ref>Courville, II, 104; Campardon, ''Comédiens du roi'', [https://archive.org/stream/lescomdiensduro02campgoog#page/n157/mode/2up II, 145]; Meldolesi.</ref> But the character seems to have been regarded as unimportant by this company, since he appears infrequently in its new plays.<ref>In the last (1753) edition of the ''Nouveau Théâtre Italien'', he appears only once—in Delisle de la Drévetière's ''The Falcon and the Eggs of Boccaccio'' (1725). The new company still produced pieces from the first Comédie-Italienne; they were added to the repertoire in 1718: Gueullette, pp. 87ff.</ref>

The character appeared often in the 18th century on Parisian stages. Sometimes he spoke gibberish, sometimes the audience itself sang his lines, inscribed on placards held aloft.<ref>These developments occurred in 1707 and 1708, respectively; see Bonnassies.</ref> He could appear as a valet, a cook, or an adventurer; his character is not strictly defined.<ref>Barberet, p. 154; tr. Storey, ''Pierrot: a critical history'', pp. 52, 53.</ref>

In the 1720s, Pierrot came into his own. In plays such as ''Trophonius's Cave'' (1722) and ''The Golden Ass'' (1725),<ref>Both in Piron, IV; Storey translates a scene from ''Trophonius's Cave'' in ''Pierrot: a critical history'', pp. 57-58.</ref> one meets an engaging Pierrot. The accomplished comic actor Jean-Baptiste Hamoche portrayed him with success.<ref>Campardon, ''Spectacles'', [https://archive.org/stream/lesspectaclesde00campgoog#page/n443/mode/2up I, 391]; tr. Storey, ''Pierrot: a critical history'', p. 54, note 31.</ref>  After 1733, he rarely appears in new plays.<ref>Barberet, p. 155; tr. Storey, ''Pierrot: a critical history'', p. 58.</ref>

Pierrot also appeared in the visual arts and in folksongs ("[[Au clair de la lune]]").<ref>" ... without the least proof": Fournier, [http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k2013692/f125.image p. 114.]</ref> The art of [[Claude Gillot]] (''Master André's Tomb'' [c. 1717]), of Gillot's students Watteau (''Italian Actors'' [c. 1719]) and [[Nicolas Lancret]] (''Italian Actors near a Fountain'' [c. 1719]), of [[Jean-Baptiste Oudry]] (''Italian Actors in a Park'' [c. 1725]), of [[Philippe Mercier]] (''Pierrot and Harlequin'' [n.d.]), and of [[Jean-Honoré Fragonard]] (''A Boy as Pierrot'' [1776–1780]), features him prominently.