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)
Femme allongée sur un coude tenant un éventail

Jean-Antoine Watteau

Femme allongée sur un coude tenant un éventail

Sale Date: April 9, 2014

Auction Closed

Africaine en déshabillé et Saka ou le porteur...

Circle of Jean-Antoine Watteau

Africaine en déshabillé et Saka ou le porteur...

Sale Date: March 27, 2014

Auction Closed

Jeune homme en tricorne et tête de vieillard de...

Circle of Jean-Antoine Watteau

Jeune homme en tricorne et tête de vieillard de...

Sale Date: March 27, 2014

Auction Closed

Scène galante

Style of Jean-Antoine Watteau

Scène galante

Sale Date: March 23, 2014

Auction Closed

Fête galante avec Gilles et Arlequin dans un...

Follower of Jean-Antoine Watteau

Fête galante avec Gilles et Arlequin dans un...

Sale Date: March 15, 2014

Auction Closed

Ceiling decoration

Jean-Antoine Watteau

Ceiling decoration

Sale Date: January 30, 2014

Auction Closed

Fête Champêtre

Attributed to Jean-Antoine Watteau

Fête Champêtre

Sale Date: November 29, 2013

Auction Closed

L'homme accoudé

Jean-Antoine Watteau

L'homme accoudé

Sale Date: November 28, 2013

Auction Closed

Scènes galantes (pair), 1800–1899

Style of Jean-Antoine Watteau

Scènes galantes (pair), 1800–1899

Sale Date: November 15, 2013

Auction Closed

Pilgrimage on the Isle Cythera

After Jean-Antoine Watteau

Pilgrimage on the Isle Cythera

Sale Date: November 2, 2013

Auction Closed

Jeune couple et enfant dans un paysage

Follower of Jean-Antoine Watteau

Jeune couple et enfant dans un paysage

Sale Date: October 21, 2013

Auction Closed

Galante Szene im Park

Follower of Jean-Antoine Watteau

Galante Szene im Park

Sale Date: October 10, 2013

Auction Closed

A girl asleep; The young lovers (pair)

In the manner of Jean-Antoine Watteau

A girl asleep; The young lovers (pair)

Sale Date: August 25, 2013

Auction Closed

Head of a young man, in profile, turned to the...

Jean-Antoine Watteau

Head of a young man, in profile, turned to the...

Sale Date: July 3, 2013

Auction Closed

Study of a standing actor, in the costume of...

Jean-Antoine Watteau

Study of a standing actor, in the costume of...

Sale Date: July 3, 2013

Auction Closed

Five studies of children

Jean-Antoine Watteau

Five studies of children

Sale Date: July 2, 2013

Auction Closed

La Femme marchant au fond (Eine Frau, von hinten

Jean-Antoine Watteau

La Femme marchant au fond (Eine Frau, von hinten

Sale Date: May 30, 2013

Auction Closed

Pilgrimage to Cythera

In the manner of Jean-Antoine Watteau

Pilgrimage to Cythera

Sale Date: May 22, 2013

Auction Closed

Jeune couple et enfant dans un paysage

Follower of Jean-Antoine Watteau

Jeune couple et enfant dans un paysage

Sale Date: April 7, 2013

Auction Closed

Figures de modes (8 works), 1710

Jean-Antoine Watteau

Figures de modes (8 works), 1710

Sale Date: April 5, 2013

Auction Closed

Die Schauspieler der Commedia dell'arte (or...

Circle of Jean-Antoine Watteau

Die Schauspieler der Commedia dell'arte (or...

Sale Date: March 26, 2013

Auction Closed

Assis auprès de toi

Attributed to Jean-Antoine Watteau

Assis auprès de toi

Sale Date: February 27, 2013

Auction Closed

Assemblée galante dans un paysage, 1700–1799

Follower of Jean-Antoine Watteau

Assemblée galante dans un paysage, 1700–1799

Sale Date: February 6, 2013

Auction Closed

Two studies of a young child standing, and...

Jean-Antoine Watteau

Two studies of a young child standing, and...

Sale Date: January 31, 2013

Auction Closed

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