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

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

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

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

Jean-Antoine Watteau (765 results)

L'ESCARPOLETTE [&] LA BALANCEUSE [CR:..., 1730

After Jean-Antoine Watteau

L'ESCARPOLETTE [&] LA BALANCEUSE [CR:..., 1730

Sale Date: October 15, 1993

Auction Closed

L'INDISCRET, 1755

After Jean-Antoine Watteau

L'INDISCRET, 1755

Sale Date: October 15, 1993

Auction Closed

Scène galante

Follower of Jean-Antoine Watteau

Scène galante

Sale Date: October 10, 1993

Auction Closed

A FETE CHAMPETRE IN AN ITALIANATE LANDSCAPE

Follower of Jean-Antoine Watteau

A FETE CHAMPETRE IN AN ITALIANATE LANDSCAPE

Sale Date: July 8, 1993

Auction Closed

LES AGREMENTS DE L'ETE

School of Jean-Antoine Watteau

LES AGREMENTS DE L'ETE

Sale Date: June 20, 1993

Auction Closed

ETUDE DE TETE

Attributed to Jean-Antoine Watteau

ETUDE DE TETE

Sale Date: June 18, 1993

Auction Closed

FETE GALANTE

In the manner of Jean-Antoine Watteau

Sale Date: May 27, 1993

Auction Closed

ELEGANT FIGURES IN A BUCOLIC LANDSCAPE

School of Jean-Antoine Watteau

ELEGANT FIGURES IN A BUCOLIC LANDSCAPE

Sale Date: May 19, 1993

Auction Closed

A FETE CHAMPETRE

School of Jean-Antoine Watteau

A FETE CHAMPETRE

Sale Date: May 19, 1993

Auction Closed

FETE CHAMPETRE

After Jean-Antoine Watteau

FETE CHAMPETRE

Sale Date: May 18, 1993

Auction Closed

LE CONTEUR

After Jean-Antoine Watteau

Sale Date: May 8, 1993

Auction Closed

SUMMER: HAYMAKERS IN A FIELD WINTER: ...

Jean-Antoine Watteau

SUMMER: HAYMAKERS IN A FIELD WINTER: ...

Sale Date: April 23, 1993

Auction Closed

Le May, by P. Aveline

After Jean-Antoine Watteau

Le May, by P. Aveline

Sale Date: April 21, 1993

Auction Closed

Jupiter and Antiope

After Jean-Antoine Watteau

Jupiter and Antiope

Sale Date: April 20, 1993

Auction Closed

FEMME DEBOUT, UN VOILE SUR LA TETE ET MARCHANT...

Jean-Antoine Watteau

FEMME DEBOUT, UN VOILE SUR LA TETE ET MARCHANT...

Sale Date: March 24, 1993

Auction Closed

HOMME DEBOUT

Jean-Antoine Watteau

Sale Date: March 24, 1993

Auction Closed

FEMME ENCAPUCHONNEE

After Jean-Antoine Watteau

FEMME ENCAPUCHONNEE

Sale Date: March 22, 1993

Auction Closed

FEMME EN PIED

After Jean-Antoine Watteau

FEMME EN PIED

Sale Date: March 22, 1993

Auction Closed

ELEGANT FIGURES IN A PARKLAND

In the manner of Jean-Antoine Watteau

ELEGANT FIGURES IN A PARKLAND

Sale Date: March 11, 1993

Auction Closed

A COUPLE SEATED IN A CLEARING

After Jean-Antoine Watteau

A COUPLE SEATED IN A CLEARING

Sale Date: February 10, 1993

Auction Closed

SCENE GALANTE

School of Jean-Antoine Watteau

SCENE GALANTE

Sale Date: January 25, 1993

Auction Closed

A SEATED BOY HOLDING A PUPPY THREE OTHER..., 1696

In the manner of Jean-Antoine Watteau

A SEATED BOY HOLDING A PUPPY THREE OTHER..., 1696

Sale Date: January 13, 1993

Auction Closed

LA POLONAISE DEBOUT

Jean-Antoine Watteau

LA POLONAISE DEBOUT

Sale Date: December 15, 1992

Auction Closed

A CAMEL WITH AN ELABORATE SADDLE

Follower of Jean-Antoine Watteau

A CAMEL WITH AN ELABORATE SADDLE

Sale Date: December 14, 1992

Auction Closed

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