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

by Eileen Kinsella

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

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

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

Jean-Antoine Watteau (765 results)

Les « saisons jullienne » : Le Printemps, ca. 1710

Jean-Antoine Watteau

Les « saisons jullienne » : Le Printemps, ca. 1710

Galerie Eric Coatalem

Price on Request

La Peinture

Follower of Jean-Antoine Watteau

Sale Date: April 10, 2024

Auction Closed

FETE GALLANT

Follower of Jean-Antoine Watteau

Sale Date: February 21, 2024

Auction Closed

La Commedia dell'arte : Colombine entre le...

Follower of Jean-Antoine Watteau

La Commedia dell'arte : Colombine entre le...

Sale Date: January 30, 2024

Auction Closed

Lovers and Attendants in Forest Landscape

Follower of Jean-Antoine Watteau

Lovers and Attendants in Forest Landscape

Sale Date: April 26, 2023

Auction Closed

A study of two men playing the guitar, seated...

Jean-Antoine Watteau

A study of two men playing the guitar, seated...

Sale Date: January 31, 2024

Auction Closed

A seated young woman, in a loose robe, her eyes...

Jean-Antoine Watteau

A seated young woman, in a loose robe, her eyes...

Sale Date: January 31, 2024

Auction Closed

Study of a Standing Man in a cape and beret,...

Jean-Antoine Watteau

Study of a Standing Man in a cape and beret,...

Sale Date: January 31, 2024

Auction Closed

Harlequin, Pierrot and Scapin

After Jean-Antoine Watteau

Harlequin, Pierrot and Scapin

Sale Date: January 23, 2024

Auction Closed

Le Bosquet de Bacchus

After Jean-Antoine Watteau

Le Bosquet de Bacchus

Sale Date: January 17, 2024

Auction Closed

Le bal champêtre

After Jean-Antoine Watteau

Le bal champêtre

Sale Date: January 17, 2024

Auction Closed

Country festival

Attributed to Jean-Antoine Watteau

Country festival

Sale Date: December 14, 2023

Auction Closed

Le départ pour l'ile de Cythere

Follower of Jean-Antoine Watteau

Le départ pour l'ile de Cythere

Sale Date: November 29, 2023

Auction Closed

Architecture with Five Figures | Composition...

Attributed to Antoine Watteau and Philipe Meusnier

Architecture with Five Figures | Composition...

Sale Date: November 14, 2023

Auction Closed

La Commedia dell'arte : Columbine entre le...

Follower of Jean-Antoine Watteau

La Commedia dell'arte : Columbine entre le...

Sale Date: November 14, 2023

Auction Closed

La comédie Italienne

Jean-Antoine Watteau

La comédie Italienne

Sale Date: October 11, 2023

Auction Closed

Harlequin, Pierrot and Scapin, 1801–1899

After Jean-Antoine Watteau

Harlequin, Pierrot and Scapin, 1801–1899

Sale Date: September 18, 2023

Auction Closed

Le bal champêtre

After Jean-Antoine Watteau

Le bal champêtre

Sale Date: September 12, 2023

Auction Closed

Le Bosquet de Bacchus

After Jean-Antoine Watteau

Le Bosquet de Bacchus

Sale Date: September 12, 2023

Auction Closed

Gallant scene in the park

After Jean-Antoine Watteau

Gallant scene in the park

Sale Date: September 21, 2023

Auction Closed

L'amour Au Theatre Francais

After Jean-Antoine Watteau

L'amour Au Theatre Francais

Sale Date: July 28, 2023

Auction Closed

Figures Francoises et Comiques, Nouvellement , 1720

After Jean-Antoine Watteau

Figures Francoises et Comiques, Nouvellement , 1720

Sale Date: July 13, 2023

Auction Closed

The bust of a young man looking down, wearing a...

Jean-Antoine Watteau

The bust of a young man looking down, wearing a...

Sale Date: July 5, 2023

Auction Closed

Mother and Child

Attributed to Jean-Antoine Watteau

Mother and Child

Sale Date: June 29, 2023

Auction Closed

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Next

English (US)

©2024 Artnet Worldwide Corporation. All rights reserved.