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)
Fête champêtre

Follower of Jean-Antoine Watteau

Fête champêtre

Sale Date: April 18, 1996

Auction Closed

Zeltlager

Circle of Jean-Antoine Watteau

Zeltlager

Sale Date: February 28, 1996

Auction Closed

A flautist playing to a couple in a landscape

After Jean-Antoine Watteau

A flautist playing to a couple in a landscape

Sale Date: February 22, 1996

Auction Closed

Mands- og kvindehoved

In the manner of Jean-Antoine Watteau

Mands- og kvindehoved

Sale Date: February 14, 1996

Auction Closed

Vue de parc animée

Jean-Antoine Watteau

Vue de parc animée

Sale Date: February 13, 1996

Auction Closed

A Chinese musician playing a hurdy-gurdy with a...

Jean-Antoine Watteau

A Chinese musician playing a hurdy-gurdy with a...

Sale Date: January 11, 1996

Auction Closed

Child, full-length, wearing fur trimmed hat,...

Jean-Antoine Watteau

Child, full-length, wearing fur trimmed hat,...

Sale Date: January 10, 1996

Auction Closed

Study of the head of a horse

Jean-Antoine Watteau

Study of the head of a horse

Sale Date: January 9, 1996

Auction Closed

Une femme vue de dos, agenouillée, et deux..., 1715

Jean-Antoine Watteau

Une femme vue de dos, agenouillée, et deux..., 1715

Sale Date: December 13, 1995

Auction Closed

Zondag in het park

Attributed to Jean-Antoine Watteau

Zondag in het park

Sale Date: December 12, 1995

Auction Closed

Amorous couples courting in a landscape

In the manner of Jean-Antoine Watteau

Amorous couples courting in a landscape

Sale Date: December 7, 1995

Auction Closed

Promenade sur les remparts

Jean-Antoine Watteau

Promenade sur les remparts

Sale Date: December 1, 1995

Auction Closed

Junge Paare bei amor

In the manner of Jean-Antoine Watteau

Junge Paare bei amor"sem Fest

Sale Date: October 21, 1995

Auction Closed

Assemblée galante

After Jean-Antoine Watteau

Assemblée galante

Sale Date: October 20, 1995

Auction Closed

L'hiver

After Jean-Antoine Watteau

L'hiver

Sale Date: October 11, 1995

Auction Closed

Personnages

After Jean-Antoine Watteau

Personnages

Sale Date: September 17, 1995

Auction Closed

La fête champêtre

Follower of Jean-Antoine Watteau

La fête champêtre

Sale Date: August 10, 1995

Auction Closed

Embracing couple seated on the ground

Jean-Antoine Watteau

Embracing couple seated on the ground

Sale Date: July 3, 1995

Auction Closed

Petite ferme sur une colline

Jean-Antoine Watteau

Petite ferme sur une colline

Sale Date: June 28, 1995

Auction Closed

Gentilhomme debout tenant une ,p,e

In the manner of Jean-Antoine Watteau

Gentilhomme debout tenant une ,p,e

Sale Date: June 23, 1995

Auction Closed

Le menuet

After Jean-Antoine Watteau

Le menuet

Sale Date: June 21, 1995

Auction Closed

Pierrot

Follower of Jean-Antoine Watteau

Pierrot

Sale Date: May 30, 1995

Auction Closed

La fête champêtre

Follower of Jean-Antoine Watteau

La fête champêtre

Sale Date: May 25, 1995

Auction Closed

Dancers on a woodland glade

After Jean-Antoine Watteau

Dancers on a woodland glade

Sale Date: May 24, 1995

Auction Closed

English (US)

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