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)
A shepherd and shepherdess seated under a tree

Jean-Antoine Watteau

A shepherd and shepherdess seated under a tree

Sale Date: January 28, 1999

Auction Closed

A seated woman holding a fan

Jean-Antoine Watteau

A seated woman holding a fan

Sale Date: January 28, 1999

Auction Closed

A military encampment

Follower of Jean-Antoine Watteau

A military encampment

Sale Date: December 18, 1998

Auction Closed

An elegant couple by a sculpted fountain

After Jean-Antoine Watteau

An elegant couple by a sculpted fountain

Sale Date: December 18, 1998

Auction Closed

A fête champêtre

Follower of Jean-Antoine Watteau

A fête champêtre

Sale Date: December 18, 1998

Auction Closed

A young Savoyard holding an oboe and a marmot in

Jean-Antoine Watteau

A young Savoyard holding an oboe and a marmot in

Sale Date: December 17, 1998

Auction Closed

Femme assise vue de trois quarts

Jean-Antoine Watteau

Femme assise vue de trois quarts

Sale Date: November 29, 1998

Auction Closed

Homme debout, accoudé sur un socle

Jean-Antoine Watteau

Homme debout, accoudé sur un socle

Sale Date: November 29, 1998

Auction Closed

Fête champêtre

In the manner of Jean-Antoine Watteau

Fête champêtre

Sale Date: November 12, 1998

Auction Closed

A lady dancing with castanets

Follower of Jean-Antoine Watteau

A lady dancing with castanets

Sale Date: October 29, 1998

Auction Closed

An elegant couple dancing

In the manner of Jean-Antoine Watteau

An elegant couple dancing

Sale Date: October 29, 1998

Auction Closed

L'entretien dans le parc

Circle of Jean-Antoine Watteau

L'entretien dans le parc

Sale Date: October 27, 1998

Auction Closed

Musizierende Gesellschaft

Follower of Jean-Antoine Watteau

Musizierende Gesellschaft

Sale Date: October 7, 1998

Auction Closed

El embarque hacia Citerea

Jean-Antoine Watteau

El embarque hacia Citerea

Sale Date: September 29, 1998

Auction Closed

Boda en la aldea

Jean-Antoine Watteau

Boda en la aldea

Sale Date: September 29, 1998

Auction Closed

A fête champêtre

Follower of Jean-Antoine Watteau

A fête champêtre

Sale Date: July 8, 1998

Auction Closed

A man leaning against a pillar

Jean-Antoine Watteau

A man leaning against a pillar

Sale Date: July 7, 1998

Auction Closed

Les plaisirs du bal

After Jean-Antoine Watteau

Les plaisirs du bal

Sale Date: June 5, 1998

Auction Closed

A fête champêtre by a lake

School of Jean-Antoine Watteau

A fête champêtre by a lake

Sale Date: June 3, 1998

Auction Closed

Elegant company dancing, 1800–1899

After Jean-Antoine Watteau

Elegant company dancing, 1800–1899

Sale Date: May 28, 1998

Auction Closed

Quadrille in a landscape (La contredanse), 1720–1720

Jean-Antoine Watteau

Quadrille in a landscape (La contredanse), 1720–1720

Sale Date: May 21, 1998

Auction Closed

Karnevalszene

After Jean-Antoine Watteau

Karnevalszene

Sale Date: May 15, 1998

Auction Closed

A guitar player

Follower of Jean-Antoine Watteau

A guitar player

Sale Date: April 22, 1998

Auction Closed

La diseuse d'aventure, 1727–1727

Jean-Antoine Watteau

La diseuse d'aventure, 1727–1727

Sale Date: April 8, 1998

Auction Closed

English (US)

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