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

The Getty Museum Spends Over $100 Million on Old Masters, Its Biggest Acquisition Ever

by Eileen Kinsella
Jean-Antoine Watteau's Soldiers: Caught Between the Past and Future of War

Jean-Antoine Watteau's Soldiers: Caught Between the Past and Future of War

by Blake Gopnik
artnet Asks: Dickinson Director and TEFAF Picture Section Vice Chairman James Roundell

artnet Asks: Dickinson Director and TEFAF Picture Section Vice Chairman James Roundell

by Lorena Muñoz-Alonso
National Gallery of London Sheds New Light on First Modern Art Dealer and Impressionist Champion Paul Durand-Ruel

National Gallery of London Sheds New Light on First Modern Art Dealer and Impressionist Champion Paul Durand-Ruel

by Edward Lucie-Smith

Jean-Antoine Watteau Artworks

Artworks for Sale &
Auction Results

Jean-Antoine Watteau (765 results)
A Monk Wearing a Hood

Jean-Antoine Watteau

A Monk Wearing a Hood

Sale Date: January 28, 2015

Auction Closed

Bust of an Actor Dressed as Pierrot

Jean-Antoine Watteau

Bust of an Actor Dressed as Pierrot

Sale Date: January 28, 2015

Auction Closed

Study of Two Soldiers, One Kneeling, One Lying...

Jean-Antoine Watteau

Study of Two Soldiers, One Kneeling, One Lying...

Sale Date: January 28, 2015

Auction Closed

Portrait of Louis XIV

Attributed to Jean-Antoine Watteau

Portrait of Louis XIV

Sale Date: November 30, 2014

Auction Closed

Maskerad - interiör med Commedia dell'arte-figurer

Follower of Jean-Antoine Watteau

Maskerad - interiör med Commedia dell'arte-figurer

Sale Date: December 2, 2014

Auction Closed

L Accordée de village

Follower of Jean-Antoine Watteau

L Accordée de village

Sale Date: December 4, 2014

Auction Closed

Elegant company music making and singing in a...

Follower of Jean-Antoine Watteau

Elegant company music making and singing in a...

Sale Date: December 2, 2014

Auction Closed

Fête Champêtre

In the manner of Jean-Antoine Watteau

Fête Champêtre

Sale Date: November 27, 2014

Auction Closed

Théâtre italien

After Jean-Antoine Watteau

Théâtre italien

Sale Date: November 17, 2014

Auction Closed

Escortes d'Equipages

Jean-Antoine Watteau

Escortes d'Equipages

Sale Date: October 21, 2014

Auction Closed

La Sentinelle

Attributed to Jean-Antoine Watteau

La Sentinelle

Sale Date: October 8, 2014

Auction Closed

La Femme et Harlequin

Attributed to Jean-Antoine Watteau

La Femme et Harlequin

Sale Date: October 8, 2014

Auction Closed

Bust of an actor dressed as Pierrot

Jean-Antoine Watteau

Bust of an actor dressed as Pierrot

Sale Date: July 9, 2014

Auction Closed

The Virgin and Child (after Schedoni)

Jean-Antoine Watteau

The Virgin and Child (after Schedoni)

Sale Date: July 9, 2014

Auction Closed

A seated lady

Jean-Antoine Watteau

A seated lady

Sale Date: July 9, 2014

Auction Closed

Head and shoulders study of a faun, his head...

Jean-Antoine Watteau

Head and shoulders study of a faun, his head...

Sale Date: July 9, 2014

Auction Closed

Pastorale

Circle of Jean-Antoine Watteau

Pastorale

Sale Date: June 25, 2014

Auction Closed

L'Embarquement pour Cythères

After Jean-Antoine Watteau

L'Embarquement pour Cythères

Sale Date: June 14, 2014

Auction Closed

Femme en costume dit polonais

Jean-Antoine Watteau

Femme en costume dit polonais

Sale Date: June 12, 2014

Auction Closed

La Surprise, galante Szene im Freien

After Jean-Antoine Watteau

La Surprise, galante Szene im Freien

Sale Date: June 24, 2014

Auction Closed

Fröhliche Gesellschaft, 18. Jahrhundert

Circle of Jean-Antoine Watteau

Fröhliche Gesellschaft, 18. Jahrhundert

Sale Date: June 24, 2014

Auction Closed

Fête galante

Follower of Jean-Antoine Watteau

Fête galante

Sale Date: June 3, 2014

Auction Closed

Rustic festival in a rocky wooded landscape

Circle of Jean-Antoine Watteau

Rustic festival in a rocky wooded landscape

Sale Date: June 5, 2014

Auction Closed

Scène galante à la mandoline

Follower of Jean-Antoine Watteau

Scène galante à la mandoline

Sale Date: May 20, 2014

Auction Closed

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