As for Watteau, it has been speculated by scholars that he had some connection to the actress. According to the Soviet scholar Inna Nemilova, Watteau was a life-long admirer of Desmares, to whom and her company-mates he was allegedly introduced by a friend, the librettist Antoine de Laroque; in an article published in the 1984–1985 exhibition catalogue Watteau, 1684–1721, the French theatre historian François Moureau says that Desmares also "had numerous reasons for meeting Watteau." It was long noted that a print by Louis Desplaces after Watteau, showing a woman dressed as pilgrim, has been captioned with Desmares' name; along with Coypel's pastel, it was also said to be an authentic portrait of Desmares.: "Il existe deux portraits de mademoiselle Desmares: l'un par Watteau (Desplaces sc.), en costume de Pèlerine, l'un de ses rôles. Le plus connu est de Coypel, gravé par Lépicié;" : "Il existe deux portraits d'elle, l'un par Antoine Watteau dans le costume de Pèlerine, l'autre, de Coypel, plus tardif, gravé par Lépicié où elle nous montre un visage carré et des formes plantureuses." The figure appeared in Watteau's early painting, The Isle of Cythera now in the Städel, Frankfurt, notably related to Florent Carton Dancourt's play The Three Cousins that was believed to feature Desmares as Colette, a pilgrim; a developed version of the subject appears in the lower left corner of Watteau's signature painting, The Embarkation for Cythera. Other paintings by Watteau believed to depict Desmares include The Coquettes, dit Actors of the Comédie-Française, The Dreamer, Fêtes Vénitiennes, and Love in the French Theatre. The supposed connection between Watteau and Desmares became a topic of the 2007 French film on the painter, .
