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)
LES ENFANT MUSICIENS

Circle of Jean-Antoine Watteau

LES ENFANT MUSICIENS

Sale Date: January 11, 1990

Auction Closed

A kneeling woman, a basket and bellows

Attributed to Jean-Antoine Watteau

A kneeling woman, a basket and bellows

Sale Date: January 10, 1990

Auction Closed

Elegant couples by a staircase in a park

In the manner of Jean-Antoine Watteau

Elegant couples by a staircase in a park

Sale Date: January 8, 1990

Auction Closed

LE RETOUR DU BAL (23.5 X 26 CM)

Follower of Jean-Antoine Watteau

LE RETOUR DU BAL (23.5 X 26 CM)

Sale Date: December 20, 1989

Auction Closed

Le mezzetin berger

Circle of Jean-Antoine Watteau

Le mezzetin berger

Sale Date: December 13, 1989

Auction Closed

La sérénade dans le parc

After Jean-Antoine Watteau

La sérénade dans le parc

Sale Date: December 8, 1989

Auction Closed

Putti with a lion, a bear, a cornucopia and a...

Follower of Jean-Antoine Watteau

Putti with a lion, a bear, a cornucopia and a...

Sale Date: December 6, 1989

Auction Closed

RECTO: STUDIES OF TWO ELEGANT LADIES..., 1711–1711

Jean-Antoine Watteau

RECTO: STUDIES OF TWO ELEGANT LADIES..., 1711–1711

Sale Date: October 27, 1989

Auction Closed

PORTRAIT OF A GIRL WITH HER HEAD TURNED , 1720–1720

Jean-Antoine Watteau

PORTRAIT OF A GIRL WITH HER HEAD TURNED , 1720–1720

Sale Date: October 27, 1989

Auction Closed

Figures from the commedia dell'arte standing in...

In the manner of Jean-Antoine Watteau

Figures from the commedia dell'arte standing in...

Sale Date: October 13, 1989

Auction Closed

Study of a Seated Girl, 1717–1717

Jean-Antoine Watteau

Study of a Seated Girl, 1717–1717

Sale Date: July 3, 1989

Auction Closed

Figure Studies: A Standing Girl Seen..., 1719–1719

Jean-Antoine Watteau

Figure Studies: A Standing Girl Seen..., 1719–1719

Sale Date: July 3, 1989

Auction Closed

La Promenade, 1710–1720

Jean-Antoine Watteau

La Promenade, 1710–1720

Sale Date: June 17, 1989

Auction Closed

FETE CHAMPETRES

School of Jean-Antoine Watteau

FETE CHAMPETRES

Sale Date: April 6, 1989

Auction Closed

TWO STUDIES OF ELEGANT MEN, ONE STANDING, ONE...

Jean-Antoine Watteau

TWO STUDIES OF ELEGANT MEN, ONE STANDING, ONE...

Sale Date: January 13, 1989

Auction Closed

RECTO: SIX STUDIES OF HEADS AFTER LE NAIN...

Jean-Antoine Watteau

RECTO: SIX STUDIES OF HEADS AFTER LE NAIN...

Sale Date: January 13, 1989

Auction Closed

Fêtes champêtres

Follower of Jean-Antoine Watteau

Fêtes champêtres

Sale Date: December 9, 1988

Auction Closed

LA PROMENADE

Jean-Antoine Watteau

LA PROMENADE

Sale Date: June 3, 1988

Auction Closed

CEILING DECORATION, 1707–1708

Jean-Antoine Watteau

CEILING DECORATION, 1707–1708

Sale Date: January 14, 1988

Auction Closed

A woman lying on a chaise longue, 1719–1719

Jean-Antoine Watteau

A woman lying on a chaise longue, 1719–1719

Sale Date: April 25, 1985

Auction Closed

Study of heads and hands, 1716–1717

Jean-Antoine Watteau

Study of heads and hands, 1716–1717

Sale Date: April 25, 1985

Auction Closed

English (US)

©2024 Artnet Worldwide Corporation. All rights reserved.