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
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)
La Déclaration

Jean-Antoine Watteau

La Déclaration

Sale Date: April 19, 2018

Auction Closed

Jeune femme debout, vue de profil vers la droite

Jean-Antoine Watteau

Jeune femme debout, vue de profil vers la droite

Sale Date: March 21, 2018

Auction Closed

A SCENE FROM THE COMMEDIA DELL'ARTE: A GIRL...

Jean-Antoine Watteau

A SCENE FROM THE COMMEDIA DELL'ARTE: A GIRL...

Sale Date: January 31, 2018

Auction Closed

YOUNG MAN TURNED THREE QUARTERS TO THE RIGHT,...

Jean-Antoine Watteau

YOUNG MAN TURNED THREE QUARTERS TO THE RIGHT,...

Sale Date: January 31, 2018

Auction Closed

VIOSSEU

Jean-Antoine Watteau

VIOSSEU" OR CHINESE MUSICIAN; CHINESE WOMAN OF...

Sale Date: February 1, 2018

Auction Closed

AN ELEGANT WOMAN SEATED ON A SWING

Jean-Antoine Watteau

AN ELEGANT WOMAN SEATED ON A SWING

Sale Date: January 31, 2018

Auction Closed

Head of a Young Girl

Attributed to Jean-Antoine Watteau

Head of a Young Girl

Sale Date: November 5, 2017

Auction Closed

Study of sleeping lion

Jean-Antoine Watteau

Study of sleeping lion

Sale Date: October 14, 2017

Auction Closed

Une jeune femme portant une coiffe

Jean-Antoine Watteau

Une jeune femme portant une coiffe

Sale Date: September 17, 2017

Auction Closed

TWO STUDIES OF HANDS

Follower of Jean-Antoine Watteau

TWO STUDIES OF HANDS

Sale Date: September 14, 2017

Auction Closed

The bird-trapper with a lady and a shepherdess...

In the manner of Jean-Antoine Watteau

The bird-trapper with a lady and a shepherdess...

Sale Date: September 12, 2017

Auction Closed

A seated woman holding a fan

Jean-Antoine Watteau

A seated woman holding a fan

Sale Date: July 5, 2017

Auction Closed

The head and shoulders of a man looking down

Jean-Antoine Watteau

The head and shoulders of a man looking down

Sale Date: July 5, 2017

Auction Closed

YOUNG GIRL SITTING ON THE EDGE OF AN ARMCHAIR,...

Jean-Antoine Watteau

YOUNG GIRL SITTING ON THE EDGE OF AN ARMCHAIR,...

Sale Date: July 5, 2017

Auction Closed

Fête galante avec Pierrot

In the manner of Jean-Antoine Watteau

Fête galante avec Pierrot

Sale Date: June 6, 2017

Auction Closed

Pour garder l'honneur d'une belle (To Protect...

Jean-Antoine Watteau

Pour garder l'honneur d'une belle (To Protect...

Sale Date: April 27, 2017

Auction Closed

Homme de profil coiffé d'un bonnet

Jean-Antoine Watteau

Homme de profil coiffé d'un bonnet

Sale Date: March 23, 2017

Auction Closed

La Sérénade

School of Jean-Antoine Watteau

La Sérénade

Sale Date: March 15, 2017

Auction Closed

Fête Galante with Blind Man's Buff Fête Galante...

After Jean-Antoine Watteau

Fête Galante with Blind Man's Buff Fête Galante...

Sale Date: March 15, 2017

Auction Closed

drawing

Attributed to Jean-Antoine Watteau

drawing

Sale Date: February 1, 2017

Auction Closed

HEAD OF A YOUNG GIRL

Attributed to Jean-Antoine Watteau

HEAD OF A YOUNG GIRL

Sale Date: February 5, 2017

Auction Closed

Eight comedians, one of them riding a donkey,...

Jean-Antoine Watteau

Eight comedians, one of them riding a donkey,...

Sale Date: January 24, 2017

Auction Closed

Paysage avec l'escarpolette

Style of Jean-Antoine Watteau

Paysage avec l'escarpolette

Sale Date: November 22, 2016

Auction Closed

After Jean-Antoine Watteau

"Das Französische Theater"

Sale Date: November 12, 2016

Auction Closed

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