Portrait of Jean Antoine Watteau

Jean Antoine Watteau Painting Reproductions 2 of 3

1684-1721

French Rococo Painter

Jean-Antoine Watteau (October 10, 1684 - July 18, 1721) was a French painter whose brief career spurred the revival of interest in colour and movement (in the tradition of Correggio and Rubens), and revitalized the waning Baroque idiom, which eventually became known as Rococo. He is credited with inventing the genre of fetes galantes: scenes of bucolic and idyllic charm, suffused with an air of theatricality. Some of his best known subjects were drawn from the world of Italian comedy and ballet.

Early life and training
Watteau was born in the Flemish town of Valenciennes, which had just been annexed by the French king Louis XIV. His father was a master tiler of Flemish descent. Showing an early interest in painting, he was apprenticed to Jacques-Albert Gerin, a local painter. Having little to learn from Gerin, Watteau left for Paris in about 1702. There he found employment in a workshop at Pont Notre-Dame, making copies of popular genre paintings in the Flemish and Dutch tradition, it was in that period that he developed his characteristic sketchlike technique.
In 1703 he was employed as an assistant by the painter Claude Gillot, whose work represented a reaction against the turgid official art of Louis XIV's reign. In Gillot's studio Watteau became acquainted with the characters of the commedia dell'arte (its actors had been expelled from France several years before), a favorite subject of Gillot's that would become one of Watteau's lifelong passions. Afterward he moved to the workshop of Claude Audran III, an interior decorator, under whose influence he began to make drawings admired for their consummate elegance. Audran was the curator of the Palais du Luxembourg, where Watteau was able to see the magnificent series of canvases painted by Peter Paul Rubens for Queen Marie de Medici. The Flemish painter would become one of his major influences, together with the Venetian masters he would later study in the collection of his patron and friend, the banker Pierre Crozat.

Mature works
In 1709 Watteau tried to obtain the Prix de Rome and was rejected by the Academy. In 1712 he tried again and was considered so good that, rather than receiving the one-year stay in Rome for which he had applied, he was accepted as a full member of the Academy. He took five years to deliver the required "reception piece," but it was one of his masterpieces: the Pilgrimage to Cythera, also called the Embarkation for Cythera.
Interestingly, while Watteau's paintings seem to epitomize the aristocratic elegance of the Regence (though he actually lived most of his short life under the oppressive climate of Louis XIV's later reign), he never had aristocratic patrons. His buyers were bourgeois such as bankers and dealers.
Although his mature paintings seem to be so many depictions of frivolous fetes galantes, they in fact display a sober melancholy, a sense of the ultimate futility of life, that makes him, among 18th century painters, one of the closest to modern sensibilities. His many imitators, such as Nicolas Lancret and Jean-Baptiste Pater, borrowed his themes but could not capture his spirit.
Among his most famous paintings, beside the two versions of the Pilgrimage to Cythera (one in the Louvre, the other in the Schloss Charlottenburg, Berlin), are Pierrot (long identified as "Gilles"), Fetes venitiennes, Love in the Italian Theater, Love in the French Theater, "Voulez-vous triompher des belles?" and Mezzetin. The subject of his hallmark painting, Pierrot or Gilles, with his slowly fading smile, seems a confused actor who appears to have forgotten his lines; he has materialized into the fearful reality of existence, sporting as his only armor the pathetic clown costume. The painting may be read as Watteau's wry comment on his mortal illness.
Watteau's final masterpiece, the Shop-sign of Gersaint, exits the pastoral forest locale for a mundane urban set of encounters. Painted at Watteau's own insistence, "to take the chill of his fingers", this sign for an art shop in Paris is effectively the final curtain of Watteau's theatre. It has been described as Watteau's Las Meninas, in that the theme appears to be the promotion of art. The scene is an art gallery where the facade has magically vanished. The gallery and street in the canvas are fused into one contiguous drama.
Watteau alarmed his friends by a carelessness about his future and financial security, as if foreseeing he would not live for long. In 1720, becoming ill, he moved to England for a while, looking for a better climate but returning in worse health. He wished to make the best of his time and worked with feverish haste. Watteau's plans to return to Valenciennes failed to materialize. He died in Nogent-sur-Marne in 1721 at the age of 37.

Critical assessment and legacy
Little known during his lifetime beyond a small circle of his devotees, Watteau "was mentioned but seldom in contemporary art criticism and then usually reprovingly". Sir Michael Levey once noted that Watteau "created, unwittingly, the concept of the individualistic artist loyal to himself, and himself alone". If his immediate followers (Lancret and Pater) would depict the unabashed frillery of aristocratic romantic pursuits, Watteau in a few masterpieces anticipates an art about art, the world of art as seen through the eyes of an artist. In contrast to the Rococo whimsicality and licentiousness cultivated by Boucher and Fragonard in the later part of Louis XV's reign, Watteau's theatrical panache is usually tinged with a note of sympathy, wistfulness, and sadness at the transience of love and other earthly delights.
Watteau's influence on the arts (not only painting, but the decorative arts, costume, film, poetry, music) was more extensive than that of almost any other 18th-century artist. According to the 1911 Britannica, "in his treatment of the landscape background and of the atmospheric surroundings of the figures can be found the germs of Impressionism". The Watteau dress, a long, sacklike dress with loose pleats hanging from the shoulder at the back, similar to those worn by many of the women in his paintings, is named after him. A revived vogue for him began in Europe during the Victorian era and was later encapsulated by the Goncourt brothers and the World of Art. In 1984 Watteau societies were created in Paris and London. Since 2000 a Watteau centre has been established at Valenciennes.

66 Watteau Paintings

Pilgrimage to Cythera, 1717 by Watteau | Painting Reproduction

Pilgrimage to Cythera 1717

Oil Painting
$3282
Canvas Print
$50.47
SKU: WJA-8248
Jean Antoine Watteau
Original Size: 129 x 194 cm
Louvre Museum, Paris, France

The Gersaint Shop Sign, 1721 by Watteau | Painting Reproduction

The Gersaint Shop Sign 1721

Oil Painting
$5655
Canvas Print
$50.19
SKU: WJA-13319
Jean Antoine Watteau
Original Size: 163 x 308 cm
Schloss Charlottenburg, Berlin, Germany

The Dance (Iris), c.1719 by Watteau | Painting Reproduction

The Dance (Iris) c.1719

Oil Painting
$2620
Canvas Print
$63.20
SKU: WJA-13320
Jean Antoine Watteau
Original Size: 97 x 116 cm
Gemaldegalerie, Berlin, Germany

Nymph and Satyr, c.1715/16 by Watteau | Painting Reproduction

Nymph and Satyr c.1715/16

Oil Painting
$2549
Canvas Print
$51.86
SKU: WJA-13321
Jean Antoine Watteau
Original Size: 73.5 x 107.5 cm
Louvre Museum, Paris, France

The Concert (The Music Lesson), 1717 by Watteau | Painting Reproduction

The Concert (The Music Lesson) 1717

Oil Painting
$2914
Canvas Print
$54.21
SKU: WJA-13322
Jean Antoine Watteau
Original Size: 66 x 91 cm
Schloss Charlottenburg, Berlin, Germany

Company in a Park, c.1716/17 by Watteau | Painting Reproduction

Company in a Park c.1716/17

Oil Painting
$2360
Canvas Print
$50.19
SKU: WJA-13323
Jean Antoine Watteau
Original Size: 32.5 x 46.5 cm
Louvre Museum, Paris, France

The Shepherds, n.d. by Watteau | Painting Reproduction

The Shepherds n.d.

Oil Painting
$3950
Canvas Print
$52.55
SKU: WJA-13324
Jean Antoine Watteau
Original Size: unknown
Schloss Charlottenburg, Berlin, Germany

Diana Bathing, c.1715/16 by Watteau | Painting Reproduction

Diana Bathing c.1715/16

Oil Painting
$2307
Canvas Print
$60.71
SKU: WJA-13325
Jean Antoine Watteau
Original Size: 80 x 101 cm
Louvre Museum, Paris, France

The French Comedians, c.1720/21 by Watteau | Painting Reproduction

The French Comedians c.1720/21

Oil Painting
$2885
Canvas Print
$60.02
SKU: WJA-13326
Jean Antoine Watteau
Original Size: 57.2 x 73 cm
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA

The Halt during the Chase, c.1717/12 by Watteau | Painting Reproduction

The Halt during the Chase c.1717/12

Oil Painting
$5377
Canvas Print
$50.19
SKU: WJA-13327
Jean Antoine Watteau
Original Size: 124.5 x 189 cm
The Wallace Collection, London, United Kingdom

Pleasures of the Ball, c.1715/17 by Watteau | Painting Reproduction

Pleasures of the Ball c.1715/17

Oil Painting
$5584
Canvas Print
$86.49
SKU: WJA-13328
Jean Antoine Watteau
Original Size: 52.6 x 65.4 cm
Dulwich Picture Gallery, London, United Kingdom

The Singing Lesson (Guitarist and Young Lady with a Music Book), c.1717/19 by Watteau | Painting Reproduction

The Singing Lesson (Guitarist and Young Lady with ... c.1717/19

Oil Painting
$2131
Canvas Print
$50.19
SKU: WJA-13329
Jean Antoine Watteau
Original Size: 24.3 x 18.4 cm
Prado Museum, Madrid, Spain

Pastoral Pleasures, c.1716 by Watteau | Painting Reproduction

Pastoral Pleasures c.1716

Oil Painting
$2473
Canvas Print
$50.19
SKU: WJA-13330
Jean Antoine Watteau
Original Size: 31 x 44 cm
Musee Conde, Chantilly, France

Love in the Country (Peaceful Love), c.1718/19 by Watteau | Painting Reproduction

Love in the Country (Peaceful Love) c.1718/19

Oil Painting
$2875
Canvas Print
$52.82
SKU: WJA-13331
Jean Antoine Watteau
Original Size: 56 x 81 cm
Schloss Charlottenburg, Berlin, Germany

The Serenader (Guitar Player), n.d. by Watteau | Painting Reproduction

The Serenader (Guitar Player) n.d.

Oil Painting
$1721
Canvas Print
$50.19
SKU: WJA-13332
Jean Antoine Watteau
Original Size: 24 x 17 cm
Musee Conde, Chantilly, France

Ceres (Summer), c.1715/16 by Watteau | Painting Reproduction

Ceres (Summer) c.1715/16

Oil Painting
$3041
Canvas Print
$62.23
SKU: WJA-13333
Jean Antoine Watteau
Original Size: 141.6 x 115.7 cm
National Gallery of Art, Washington, USA

La Finette, c.1717 by Watteau | Painting Reproduction

La Finette c.1717

Oil Painting
$1564
Canvas Print
$50.19
SKU: WJA-13334
Jean Antoine Watteau
Original Size: 25.5 x 19 cm
Louvre Museum, Paris, France

The Cook, n.d. by Watteau | Painting Reproduction

The Cook n.d.

Oil Painting
$2396
Canvas Print
$58.64
SKU: WJA-13335
Jean Antoine Watteau
Original Size: 53 x 44 cm
Art Museums, Strasbourg, France

L'Indifferent, c.1717 by Watteau | Painting Reproduction

L'Indifferent c.1717

Oil Painting
$1469
Canvas Print
$50.19
SKU: WJA-13336
Jean Antoine Watteau
Original Size: 25.5 x 19 cm
Louvre Museum, Paris, France

Italian Comedians, c.1720 by Watteau | Painting Reproduction

Italian Comedians c.1720

Oil Painting
$4138
Canvas Print
$63.06
SKU: WJA-13337
Jean Antoine Watteau
Original Size: 63.8 x 76.2 cm
National Gallery of Art, Washington, USA

The Portal of Valenciennes, c.1709/10 by Watteau | Painting Reproduction

The Portal of Valenciennes c.1709/10

Oil Painting
$2512
Canvas Print
$50.19
SKU: WJA-13338
Jean Antoine Watteau
Original Size: 32.5 x 40.5 cm
Frick Collection, New York, USA

A Lady at her Toilet, c.1716/17 by Watteau | Painting Reproduction

A Lady at her Toilet c.1716/17

Oil Painting
$2131
Canvas Print
$50.19
SKU: WJA-13339
Jean Antoine Watteau
Original Size: 45.2 x 37.8 cm
The Wallace Collection, London, United Kingdom

Respite from War, c.172/15 by Watteau | Painting Reproduction

Respite from War c.172/15

Oil Painting
$2216
Canvas Print
$50.19
SKU: WJA-13340
Jean Antoine Watteau
Original Size: 21.5 x 33.5 cm
The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia

Harlequin, Pierrot and Scapin, Actors from the Commedia dell'Arte, n.d. by Watteau | Painting Reproduction

Harlequin, Pierrot and Scapin, Actors from the ... n.d.

Oil Painting
$1798
Canvas Print
$51.29
SKU: WJA-13341
Jean Antoine Watteau
Original Size: unknown
Public Collection

Top