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

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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)
A harlequin playing a guitar before a company...

Circle of Jean-Antoine Watteau

A harlequin playing a guitar before a company...

Sale Date: October 30, 2001

Auction Closed

A scène galante

In the manner of Jean-Antoine Watteau

A scène galante

Sale Date: July 12, 2001

Auction Closed

An elegant couple walking in an extensive...

Jean-Antoine Watteau

An elegant couple walking in an extensive...

Sale Date: July 10, 2001

Auction Closed

Portrait de Madame Julienne (?) sous la , 1700–1799

Follower of Jean-Antoine Watteau

Portrait de Madame Julienne (?) sous la , 1700–1799

Sale Date: June 22, 2001

Auction Closed

Landscape with amourous couples and two children

Jean-Antoine Watteau

Landscape with amourous couples and two children

Sale Date: May 23, 2001

Auction Closed

Children playing in a landscape

Circle of Jean-Antoine Watteau

Children playing in a landscape

Sale Date: April 26, 2001

Auction Closed

Scène galante dans un parc

Style of Jean-Antoine Watteau

Scène galante dans un parc

Sale Date: March 29, 2001

Auction Closed

Deux études d'une femme dansant

Jean-Antoine Watteau

Deux études d'une femme dansant

Sale Date: March 27, 2001

Auction Closed

Quatre personnages masculins allongés vus de dos

Jean-Antoine Watteau

Quatre personnages masculins allongés vus de dos

Sale Date: March 22, 2001

Auction Closed

Le conteur

Jean-Antoine Watteau

Le conteur

Sale Date: December 13, 2000

Auction Closed

Galante Szene

Follower of Jean-Antoine Watteau

Galante Szene

Sale Date: December 9, 2000

Auction Closed

La game d'amour, 1740–1740

After Jean-Antoine Watteau

La game d'amour, 1740–1740

Sale Date: November 9, 2000

Auction Closed

La troupe italienne, 1700–1700

Jean-Antoine Watteau

La troupe italienne, 1700–1700

Sale Date: November 9, 2000

Auction Closed

L'enseigne dite l'Enseigne de Gersaint

After Jean-Antoine Watteau

L'enseigne dite l'Enseigne de Gersaint

Sale Date: October 18, 2000

Auction Closed

A fountain, with Venus and Cupid on a tall...

Attributed to Jean-Antoine Watteau

A fountain, with Venus and Cupid on a tall...

Sale Date: July 5, 2000

Auction Closed

Head of a young girl turned to the left

Jean-Antoine Watteau

Head of a young girl turned to the left

Sale Date: July 4, 2000

Auction Closed

L'enseigne, dit l'enseigne de Gersaint

After Jean-Antoine Watteau

L'enseigne, dit l'enseigne de Gersaint

Sale Date: June 19, 2000

Auction Closed

Das Liebesspiel

After Jean-Antoine Watteau

Das Liebesspiel

Sale Date: May 26, 2000

Auction Closed

L'amour mal-accompagne

After Jean-Antoine Watteau

L'amour mal-accompagne

Sale Date: May 26, 2000

Auction Closed

La troupe italienne

Jean-Antoine Watteau

La troupe italienne

Sale Date: May 26, 2000

Auction Closed

Paravent de six feuilles

After Jean-Antoine Watteau

Paravent de six feuilles

Sale Date: March 25, 2000

Auction Closed

Un promeneur vue de profil, pl. 6, 1710–1710

Jean-Antoine Watteau

Un promeneur vue de profil, pl. 6, 1710–1710

Sale Date: March 16, 2000

Auction Closed

A seated woman seen from behind

Jean-Antoine Watteau

A seated woman seen from behind

Sale Date: January 28, 2000

Auction Closed

Hygieia with a serpant

Circle of Jean-Antoine Watteau

Hygieia with a serpant

Sale Date: January 28, 2000

Auction Closed

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