Jean-Antoine Watteau

(French, 1684–1721)

Jean-Antoine Watteau was a seminal French painter of the Rococo style. Watteau’s lyrical paint handling and graceful compositions are exemplified in his work Pilgrimage to Cythera (1717). Born on October 10, 1684 in Valenciennes, France, he briefly apprenticed with a painter in his hometown before moving to Paris at the age of 18. Watteau regularly sketched scenes of life in the city and in 1703 entered the studio of Claude Gillot, a painter of opera sets. This exposure to the artificial lighting and costumery of the theater, as well as Gillot’s atmospheric handling of landscapes, nymphs, and fauns, greatly influenced the young Watteau. In the years that followed, he studied the paintings of Peter Paul Rubens, Correggio, and others, while garnering the patronage of collectors in Paris and abroad. Many of his mature works included portraits of characters from the Comédie-Italienne, most famously the ill-fated clown named Gilles. Watteau died at the height of his career from tuberculosis at the age of 37, on July 18, 1721 in Nogern-sur-Marne, France. The generation of painters that followed his death included both François Boucher and Jean-Honoré Fragonard. These two along with others were profoundly influenced by the theatrical scenes, feathery brushstrokes, and pastel hues employed by Watteau. Today, his works are held in the collections of the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, the Louvre Museum in Paris, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, among others.

Jean-Antoine Watteau News

Market

The Getty Museum Spends Over $100 Million on Old Masters, Its Biggest Acquisition Ever

by Eileen Kinsella
The Getty Museum Spends Over $100 Million on Old Masters, Its Biggest Acquisition Ever
Opinion

Jean-Antoine Watteau's Soldiers: Caught Between the Past and Future of War

by Blake Gopnik
Jean-Antoine Watteau's Soldiers: Caught Between the Past and Future of War
Art Fairs

artnet Asks: Dickinson Director and TEFAF Picture Section Vice Chairman James Roundell

by Lorena Muñoz-Alonso
artnet Asks: Dickinson Director and TEFAF Picture Section Vice Chairman James Roundell

Jean-Antoine Watteau Artworks

Artworks for Sale &
Auction Results

Jean-Antoine Watteau (765 results)
Fêtes vénitiennes dit une danse

After Jean-Antoine Watteau

Fêtes vénitiennes dit une danse

Sale Date: July 5, 2006

Auction Closed

A fête champêtre

Follower of Jean-Antoine Watteau

A fête champêtre

Sale Date: July 5, 2006

Auction Closed

Galant près d'une jeune fille sur une balançoire

Manner/Style of Jean-Antoine Watteau

Galant près d'une jeune fille sur une balançoire

Sale Date: June 7, 2006

Auction Closed

La leçon de musique

After Jean-Antoine Watteau

La leçon de musique

Sale Date: June 9, 2006

Auction Closed

Le retour de campagne

Jean-Antoine Watteau

Le retour de campagne

Sale Date: May 18, 2006

Auction Closed

Fête champêtre

Attributed to Jean-Antoine Watteau

Fête champêtre

Sale Date: May 18, 2006

Auction Closed

Actors of the Italian Commedia dell'arte

After Jean-Antoine Watteau

Actors of the Italian Commedia dell'arte

Sale Date: April 25, 2006

Auction Closed

L'enseigne de Gersaint (by Aveline)

After Jean-Antoine Watteau

L'enseigne de Gersaint (by Aveline)

Sale Date: April 7, 2006

Auction Closed

Tête de jeune femme penchée vers la droite

Jean-Antoine Watteau

Tête de jeune femme penchée vers la droite

Sale Date: March 22, 2006

Auction Closed

Figure studies

Jean-Antoine Watteau

Figure studies

Sale Date: March 22, 2006

Auction Closed

La signature du contrat de la noce de..., 1730

After Jean-Antoine Watteau

La signature du contrat de la noce de..., 1730

Sale Date: March 6, 2006

Auction Closed

A merry company in a park landscape, 1922

After Jean-Antoine Watteau

A merry company in a park landscape, 1922

Sale Date: January 24, 2006

Auction Closed

A woman in a long dress, seated in profile to...

Jean-Antoine Watteau

A woman in a long dress, seated in profile to...

Sale Date: January 24, 2006

Auction Closed

A fête galante

Attributed to Jean-Antoine Watteau

A fête galante

Sale Date: January 25, 2006

Auction Closed

Französische Komödie (by Karl Lucki)

After Jean-Antoine Watteau

Französische Komödie (by Karl Lucki)

Sale Date: December 7, 2005

Auction Closed

Die vier Jahreszeiten (set of 4 on 2 sheets; by...

After Jean-Antoine Watteau

Die vier Jahreszeiten (set of 4 on 2 sheets; by...

Sale Date: December 1, 2005

Auction Closed

Main d'un jeune homme

Circle of Jean-Antoine Watteau

Main d'un jeune homme

Sale Date: October 21, 2005

Auction Closed

Paysan assis de dos, 1970

Jean-Antoine Watteau

Paysan assis de dos, 1970

Sale Date: October 21, 2005

Auction Closed

Une fête champêtre

Follower of Jean-Antoine Watteau

Une fête champêtre

Sale Date: October 5, 2005

Auction Closed

A Fête Champêtre

In the manner of Jean-Antoine Watteau

A Fête Champêtre

Sale Date: July 6, 2005

Auction Closed

A fête champêtre

Follower of Jean-Antoine Watteau

A fête champêtre

Sale Date: July 6, 2005

Auction Closed

Fête champêtre

Attributed to Jean-Antoine Watteau

Fête champêtre

Sale Date: May 26, 2005

Auction Closed

A fête champétre

Follower of Jean-Antoine Watteau

A fête champétre

Sale Date: April 20, 2005

Auction Closed

Saint Cecilia (After Rubens)

Jean-Antoine Watteau

Saint Cecilia (After Rubens)

Sale Date: January 24, 2005

Auction Closed

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