Departure of the Italian comedians in 1697 - Jacob after Warteau

On May 13, 1697, the Lieutenant General of Police had the door of the Hôtel de Bourgogne sealed, and the Italian comedians were chased thirty leagues from Paris. This ban would last until the king's death, when Luigi Riccoboni's new troupe was called in by the regent in 1716.

In the Gazette d'Amsterdam of May 23, 1697, we read:

(From Paris on May 17). Ces jours passés, le Sieur d'Argenson, Lieutenant général de Police, allée à l'Hôtel des Comédiens Italiens, et leur déclara par ordre du Roy qu'ils eussent à cesser leurs représentations et à sortir du Royaume, ensuite de quoi toutes les portes furent fermées avec barres de fer. The real cause of this disgrace is unknown. S. M. will take advantage of the 18 m. livres pension she gave them.

It was the performance of La fausse Prude, implicating Mme de Maintenon, that is said to have decided the king on this expulsion, against a backdrop of rivalry with French comedians, jealous of their monopoly. Saint-Simon writes on this subject:

This made a great noise, and if these comedians lost their establishment by their boldness and folly, the one who had them expelled did not gain, by the license with which this ridiculous event gave cause to talk about it.

In fact, Watteau's painting in no way treats the expulsion as tragic, the comedians instead indulging in a grand street show.