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)
Playful lovers in a river landscape

In the manner of Jean-Antoine Watteau

Playful lovers in a river landscape

Sale Date: December 1, 1994

Auction Closed

Ruinlandskab med tre personer

In the manner of Jean-Antoine Watteau

Ruinlandskab med tre personer

Sale Date: November 30, 1994

Auction Closed

Escena galante

Follower of Jean-Antoine Watteau

Escena galante

Sale Date: November 23, 1994

Auction Closed

Mezzetin

Jean-Antoine Watteau

Mezzetin

Sale Date: October 21, 1994

Auction Closed

Deux etudes de guitariste, l'un de profil,...

Jean-Antoine Watteau

Deux etudes de guitariste, l'un de profil,...

Sale Date: October 20, 1994

Auction Closed

L'Accord parfait

After Jean-Antoine Watteau

L'Accord parfait

Sale Date: October 19, 1994

Auction Closed

Bildnis des Schauspielers Granval in der...

Follower of Jean-Antoine Watteau

Bildnis des Schauspielers Granval in der...

Sale Date: October 18, 1994

Auction Closed

La Fete

In the manner of Jean-Antoine Watteau

La Fete

Sale Date: October 15, 1994

Auction Closed

Le Plaisir Pastoral, 1730

After Jean-Antoine Watteau

Le Plaisir Pastoral, 1730

Sale Date: October 14, 1994

Auction Closed

Ladies and musician in a glade

In the manner of Jean-Antoine Watteau

Ladies and musician in a glade

Sale Date: October 11, 1994

Auction Closed

Fête champêtre

In the manner of Jean-Antoine Watteau

Fête champêtre

Sale Date: September 21, 1994

Auction Closed

Scenes from the Commedia dell'arte

In the manner of Jean-Antoine Watteau

Scenes from the Commedia dell'arte

Sale Date: September 21, 1994

Auction Closed

STUDY OF A WOMAN HOLDING HER SKIRT WITH ONE..., 1714

Jean-Antoine Watteau

STUDY OF A WOMAN HOLDING HER SKIRT WITH ONE..., 1714

Sale Date: July 4, 1994

Auction Closed

FULL-LENGTH STUDY OF A MAID CARRYING A..., 1712–1713

Jean-Antoine Watteau

FULL-LENGTH STUDY OF A MAID CARRYING A..., 1712–1713

Sale Date: July 4, 1994

Auction Closed

STUDIES OF FOUR FIGURES AND A HAND, 1710

Jean-Antoine Watteau

STUDIES OF FOUR FIGURES AND A HAND, 1710

Sale Date: July 4, 1994

Auction Closed

Jeux d'Enfants

Attributed to Jean-Antoine Watteau

Jeux d'Enfants

Sale Date: June 27, 1994

Auction Closed

VEILLEE DE CORPS DE GARDE

Circle of Jean-Antoine Watteau

VEILLEE DE CORPS DE GARDE

Sale Date: June 19, 1994

Auction Closed

Vendeur de cafe par les rues

Attributed to Jean-Antoine Watteau

Vendeur de cafe par les rues

Sale Date: June 10, 1994

Auction Closed

Une fête champêtre

Follower of Jean-Antoine Watteau

Une fête champêtre

Sale Date: June 7, 1994

Auction Closed

ELEGANT FIGURES GATHERED IN A GARDEN WITH A...

School of Jean-Antoine Watteau

ELEGANT FIGURES GATHERED IN A GARDEN WITH A...

Sale Date: May 18, 1994

Auction Closed

Vergn_gen im Freien

In the manner of Jean-Antoine Watteau

Vergn_gen im Freien

Sale Date: May 7, 1994

Auction Closed

Vergn_gen im Freien

In the manner of Jean-Antoine Watteau

Vergn_gen im Freien

Sale Date: May 7, 1994

Auction Closed

Studies of three female heads and a hand

Circle of Jean-Antoine Watteau

Studies of three female heads and a hand

Sale Date: April 19, 1994

Auction Closed

Fête galante

In the manner of Jean-Antoine Watteau

Fête galante

Sale Date: April 10, 1994

Auction Closed

English (US)

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