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

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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
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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)
STUDIES OF A YOUNG WOMAN AND TWO HUNTSMEN WITH...

Jean-Antoine Watteau

STUDIES OF A YOUNG WOMAN AND TWO HUNTSMEN WITH...

Sale Date: January 9, 1991

Auction Closed

LA CASCADE

After Jean-Antoine Watteau

LA CASCADE

Sale Date: December 14, 1990

Auction Closed

LA PORTE DE VALENCIENNES

Jean-Antoine Watteau

LA PORTE DE VALENCIENNES

Sale Date: December 12, 1990

Auction Closed

STUDIES OF A WOMAN'S HANDS HOLDING A FAN, OF FA...

Jean-Antoine Watteau

STUDIES OF A WOMAN'S HANDS HOLDING A FAN, OF FA...

Sale Date: December 11, 1990

Auction Closed

A FETE CHAMPETRE

In the manner of Jean-Antoine Watteau

A FETE CHAMPETRE

Sale Date: December 5, 1990

Auction Closed

HOMME BARBU VU DE FACE, A MI CORPS

Jean-Antoine Watteau

HOMME BARBU VU DE FACE, A MI CORPS

Sale Date: December 1, 1990

Auction Closed

A GAME OF BLIND MAN'S BUFF

Follower of Jean-Antoine Watteau

A GAME OF BLIND MAN'S BUFF

Sale Date: November 29, 1990

Auction Closed

FETES GALANTES

In the manner of Jean-Antoine Watteau

FETES GALANTES

Sale Date: November 29, 1990

Auction Closed

A FETE GALANTE

In the manner of Jean-Antoine Watteau

A FETE GALANTE

Sale Date: November 29, 1990

Auction Closed

UNE PROMENADE EN TRAINEAU

Attributed to Jean-Antoine Watteau

UNE PROMENADE EN TRAINEAU

Sale Date: November 7, 1990

Auction Closed

Jean-Antoine Watteau

"LES AMUSEMENTS DE CYTHERE"

Sale Date: October 8, 1990

Auction Closed

LES ENFANTS MUSICIENS

Circle of Jean-Antoine Watteau

LES ENFANTS MUSICIENS

Sale Date: July 19, 1990

Auction Closed

THE MUSIC PARTY

Jean-Antoine Watteau

THE MUSIC PARTY

Sale Date: July 19, 1990

Auction Closed

STUDIENKOPF EINER JUNGEN FRAU

Jean-Antoine Watteau

STUDIENKOPF EINER JUNGEN FRAU

Sale Date: June 21, 1990

Auction Closed

FETES CHAMPETRES

Jean-Antoine Watteau

FETES CHAMPETRES

Sale Date: June 21, 1990

Auction Closed

ETUDE DE PEINTRE TENANT UNE PALETTE ET ETUDE DE...

Jean-Antoine Watteau

ETUDE DE PEINTRE TENANT UNE PALETTE ET ETUDE DE...

Sale Date: June 15, 1990

Auction Closed

QUARTRE FIGURES EN PIEDS

Jean-Antoine Watteau

QUARTRE FIGURES EN PIEDS

Sale Date: June 13, 1990

Auction Closed

Les enfants de Momus & Le cause badine

Jean-Antoine Watteau

Les enfants de Momus & Le cause badine

Sale Date: June 7, 1990

Auction Closed

ITALIAN MUSICIANS IN A LAND- SCAPE

Circle of Jean-Antoine Watteau

ITALIAN MUSICIANS IN A LAND- SCAPE

Sale Date: June 1, 1990

Auction Closed

PEASANTS DANCING AND MERRY- MAKING BEFORE A...

Jean-Antoine Watteau

PEASANTS DANCING AND MERRY- MAKING BEFORE A...

Sale Date: May 31, 1990

Auction Closed

AN ACTOR IN THE COSTUME OF LE MEZZETIN

School of Jean-Antoine Watteau

AN ACTOR IN THE COSTUME OF LE MEZZETIN

Sale Date: May 30, 1990

Auction Closed

LE LORGNEUR

Follower of Jean-Antoine Watteau

LE LORGNEUR

Sale Date: May 22, 1990

Auction Closed

Tête d'homme portant un chapeau et une collerette

Jean-Antoine Watteau

Tête d'homme portant un chapeau et une collerette

Sale Date: March 28, 1990

Auction Closed

Portrait of a lady

Circle of Jean-Antoine Watteau

Portrait of a lady

Sale Date: January 12, 1990

Auction Closed

English (US)

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