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)
Muscians seated in a landscape

Circle of Jean-Antoine Watteau

Muscians seated in a landscape

Sale Date: January 26, 2000

Auction Closed

Two female figures, one kneeling holding a bowl,

Jean-Antoine Watteau

Two female figures, one kneeling holding a bowl,

Sale Date: January 26, 2000

Auction Closed

La danse champêtre

Follower of Jean-Antoine Watteau

La danse champêtre

Sale Date: December 15, 1999

Auction Closed

A fête champêtre

Studio of Jean-Antoine Watteau

A fête champêtre

Sale Date: December 14, 1999

Auction Closed

Kärleksbrunnen

After Jean-Antoine Watteau

Kärleksbrunnen

Sale Date: November 24, 1999

Auction Closed

Fête Champêtre

Follower of Jean-Antoine Watteau

Fête Champêtre

Sale Date: October 6, 1999

Auction Closed

Blind man's buff, with the artist at work in the

Follower of Jean-Antoine Watteau

Blind man's buff, with the artist at work in the

Sale Date: July 9, 1999

Auction Closed

A bewigged painter (Claude Audran?) seated at...

Jean-Antoine Watteau

A bewigged painter (Claude Audran?) seated at...

Sale Date: July 7, 1999

Auction Closed

A fête champêtre

After Jean-Antoine Watteau

A fête champêtre

Sale Date: July 7, 1999

Auction Closed

The head and shoulder of a man lifting a...

Jean-Antoine Watteau

The head and shoulder of a man lifting a...

Sale Date: July 6, 1999

Auction Closed

A seated young man holding his hat under his...

Jean-Antoine Watteau

A seated young man holding his hat under his...

Sale Date: July 6, 1999

Auction Closed

A wolf disguised as a shepherd

Jean-Antoine Watteau

A wolf disguised as a shepherd

Sale Date: July 6, 1999

Auction Closed

A seated woman with a generous décolleté, her...

Jean-Antoine Watteau

A seated woman with a generous décolleté, her...

Sale Date: July 6, 1999

Auction Closed

A female nude in a shift leaning forward with...

Jean-Antoine Watteau

A female nude in a shift leaning forward with...

Sale Date: July 6, 1999

Auction Closed

A satyr leaning forward to the right

Jean-Antoine Watteau

A satyr leaning forward to the right

Sale Date: July 6, 1999

Auction Closed

A scene from the commedia dell'arte: A girl...

Jean-Antoine Watteau

A scene from the commedia dell'arte: A girl...

Sale Date: July 6, 1999

Auction Closed

Figures de modes

Jean-Antoine Watteau

Figures de modes

Sale Date: June 4, 1999

Auction Closed

A musical trio in an interior

In the manner of Jean-Antoine Watteau

A musical trio in an interior

Sale Date: May 26, 1999

Auction Closed

The swing

After Jean-Antoine Watteau

The swing

Sale Date: May 26, 1999

Auction Closed

La partie quarrée

After Jean-Antoine Watteau

La partie quarrée

Sale Date: April 16, 1999

Auction Closed

A lady dancing in a landscape

Follower of Jean-Antoine Watteau

A lady dancing in a landscape

Sale Date: April 14, 1999

Auction Closed

Le mezetin, 1800–1800

Manner/Style of Jean-Antoine Watteau

Le mezetin, 1800–1800

Sale Date: March 10, 1999

Auction Closed

Two standing soldiers, one wearing a hat

Jean-Antoine Watteau

Two standing soldiers, one wearing a hat

Sale Date: January 28, 1999

Auction Closed

Two seated ladies

Jean-Antoine Watteau

Two seated ladies

Sale Date: January 28, 1999

Auction Closed

English (US)

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