Friday 24 May 2024

Jean-Antoine Watteau - part 3

Portrait of Watteau by François Boucher

The son of a roof tiler, Jean-Antoine Watteau (1684-1721) showed a penchant for drawing and painting early in life. At eighteen he was apprenticed to a painter in his native town of Valenciennes. Soon after, with little money and few possessions, he made his way to Paris, where he made a living by copying the works of Titian and Paolo Veronese. There he entered the studio of Claude Audran III, the most renowned decorator in Paris, and met Claude Gillot, a decorator of theatrical scenery. The theatrical qualities of Watteau's paintings and drawings--their artificial illumination, costumes, and painted backdrops--reflect Gillot's influence. Watteau's subjects, often including figures from the commedia dell'arte, reflect his constant observation of the theater and the studies he often drew during performances.

Watteau invented a new type of painting, the fête galante. These large scenes of well-to-do men and women enjoying themselves outdoors allowed him to showcase his talent for conveying the delights and enchantments of nature and led to repeat commissions from such connoisseurs as Pierre Crozat. For years after his death, his compositions remained widely known in Europe through the circulation of engravings and drawings.

J.Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles


This is part 3 of a 5-part series on the works of Jean-Antoine Watteau:


c1715 Six head studies
red, white, and black chalk on light tan antique laid paper
22.2 x 21.7 cm
Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, MA

c1715 Standing man with subsidiary study of a male head
red, black and white chalk on tan antique laid paper 26.8 x 21.1 cm
 Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, MA

c1715 The old Savoyard
red and black chalk on cream laid paper 35.9 x 22.1 cm
Art Institute of Chicago, IL


c1715 Three studies of a lady in a hat
red and white chalk on paper 21 x 31.3 cm
Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels

c1715 Three studies of seated women
black, red, and white chalk on grey-brown laid paper 26 x 37 cm
Art Institute of Chicago, IL

c1715 View through the trees in the park of Pierre Crozat
oil on canvas 24 x 55 cm
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA

c1715 View through the trees in the park of Pierre Crozat
detail

 before 1716 Two studies of a woman with a fan
black and red chalk and traces of white chalk on light greyish-brown paper  24.8 x 35.4 cm
The Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, MA

1716 Gilles and his family
oil on wood panel 28 x 21 cm
Wallace Collection, London


1716 Savoyard with a marmot
oil on canvas 40.5 x 32.5 cm
The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia

1716 Two cousins
 oil on canvas 30 x 36 cm
Musée du Louvre, Paris 

1716-17 Gathering in the park
oil on wood panel 32 x 46 cm
Musée du Louvre, Paris

1716-17 Gathering in the park
detail

1716-17 Kneeling woman, and two men's heads
black stone and sanguine on grey paper with white highlights
26.3 x 33.4 cm
Musée du Louvre, Paris

c1716-17 The love lesson
oil on panel 44 x 61 cm
Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, Sweden

c1716-17 The love lesson
detail

c1716-17 The love lesson
detail

c1716-17 The remedy
red, black, and white chalk 23.3 x 37.1 cm
J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles

1716-18 Harlequin and Columbine
oil on wood panel
Wallace Collection, London

1716-18 Landscape with a castle
red chalk on buff laid paper, laid down on cream laid card
22.4 x 33.8 cm
Art Institute of Chicago, IL

1716-18 Seated Woman
black, red and white chalk on paper 24 x 13.8 cm
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

1716-18 The Dance
oil on canvas 97 x 116 cm
Gemäldegalerie, Berlin

c1716-18 Three studies of female figures
black and red chalk, graphite, on laid paper 22.8 x 17.9 cm
Courtauld Institute of Art, London Photo
© The Courtauld

1716-20 Happy age! Golden age
oil on panel 20.3 x 23.6 cm
Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, Texas

c1716 A man reclining and a woman seated on the ground
red, black, and white chalk on brown laid paper 24.1 x 35.9 cm
National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

c1716 An embarrassing proposal
oil on canvas 65 x 85 cm
The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia

c1716 An embarrassing proposal
detai
l

c1716 Mezzetin
red and black chalk counter-proof on laid paper 43.8 x 23.6 cm
National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

c1716 Seated young woman
black, red, and white chalk on buff paper 25.5 x 17.2 cm
The Morgan Library & Museum, New York

c1716 The bower
red chalk and red chalk counter-proof on laid paper 40.2 x 26.8 cm
National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

c1716 The French Comedy
oil on canvas 37 x 48 cm
Staatliche Museum, Berlin

c1716 The French Comedy
detail

c1716 The Italian Comedy
oil on canvas 37 x 48 cm
Staatliche Museum, Berlin

c1716 The Italian Comedy
detail

1717 Les Plaisirs du Bal
oil on canvas 52.7 x 65.7 cm
Dulwich Picture Gallery, London

1717 Les Plaisirs du Bal
detail

1717 Les Plaisirs du Bal
detail

1717 Pilgrimage to Cythera, so-called The Embarkation for Cythera
oil on canvas 120 x 190 cm
Musée du Louvre, Paris

1717 Pilgrimage to Cythera, so-called The Embarkation for Cythera
detail

1717 Pilgrimage to Cythera, so-called The Embarkation for Cythera
detail

1717-18 Les Champs Elysées
oil on wood panel 31 x 42 cm
Wallace Collection, London

1717-18 Les Champs Elysées
detail

1717-18 Two studies of a violinist tuning his instrument
black and red chalk heightened with white chalk on light brown laid paper 30 x 21.3 cm
National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

c1717-18 Ceres (Summer)
oil on canvas 141.6 x 115.7 cm
National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC 

c1717-18 Hunt meeting
oil on canvas 124.5 x 189 cm
The Wallace Collection, London

c1717-18 Hunt meeting
detail

c1717-18 Hunt meeting
detail

c1717-18 The scale of love
oil on canvas 50.8 x 59.7 cm
The National Gallery, London

c1717-19 Mezzetin
oil on wood panel 27.7 x 21 cm
The Wallace Collection, London

c1717 Satyr pouring wine
black, red and white chalk on laid paper 28.6 x 21.2 cm
 Courtauld Institute of Art, London
Photo © The Courtauld

c1717 Seated woman holding a fan
red, black, and white chalk 21.3 x 20.6 cm
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

c1717 Studies of a flautist and two women
red, black, and white chalk on buff paper 26.7 x 23 cm
The Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, MA

c1717 Study of a woman's head and hands
red and white chalk and graphite on off-white laid paper
19 x 12.7 cm
 Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

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