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| 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:
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| 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 |
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| 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 |
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| c1715 The old Savoyard red and black chalk on cream laid paper 35.9 x 22.1 cm Art Institute of Chicago, IL |
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| 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 |
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| 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 |
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| c1715 View through the trees in the park of Pierre Crozat oil on canvas 24 x 55 cm Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA |
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| c1715 View through the trees in the park of Pierre Crozat detail |
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| 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 |
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| 1716 Gilles and his family oil on wood panel 28 x 21 cm Wallace Collection, London |
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| 1716 Savoyard with a marmot oil on canvas 40.5 x 32.5 cm The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia |
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| 1716 Two cousins oil on canvas 30 x 36 cm Musée du Louvre, Paris |
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| 1716-17 Gathering in the park oil on wood panel 32 x 46 cm Musée du Louvre, Paris |
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| 1716-17 Gathering in the park detail |
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| 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 |
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| c1716-17 The love lesson oil on panel 44 x 61 cm Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, Sweden |
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| c1716-17 The love lesson detail |
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| c1716-17 The love lesson detail |
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| c1716-17 The remedy red, black, and white chalk 23.3 x 37.1 cm J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles |
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| 1716-18 Harlequin and Columbine oil on wood panel Wallace Collection, London |
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| 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 |
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| 1716-18 Seated Woman black, red and white chalk on paper 24 x 13.8 cm Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |
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| 1716-18 The Dance oil on canvas 97 x 116 cm Gemäldegalerie, Berlin |
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| 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 |
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| 1716-20 Happy age! Golden age oil on panel 20.3 x 23.6 cm Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, Texas |
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| 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 |
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| c1716 An embarrassing proposal oil on canvas 65 x 85 cm The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia |
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| c1716 An embarrassing proposal detail |
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| c1716 Mezzetin red and black chalk counter-proof on laid paper 43.8 x 23.6 cm National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC |
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| c1716 Seated young woman black, red, and white chalk on buff paper 25.5 x 17.2 cm The Morgan Library & Museum, New York |
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| 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 |
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| c1716 The French Comedy oil on canvas 37 x 48 cm Staatliche Museum, Berlin |
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| c1716 The French Comedy detail |
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| c1716 The Italian Comedy oil on canvas 37 x 48 cm Staatliche Museum, Berlin |
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| c1716 The Italian Comedy detail |
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| 1717 Les Plaisirs du Bal oil on canvas 52.7 x 65.7 cm Dulwich Picture Gallery, London |
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| 1717 Les Plaisirs du Bal detail |
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| 1717 Les Plaisirs du Bal detail |
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| 1717 Pilgrimage to Cythera, so-called The Embarkation for Cythera oil on canvas 120 x 190 cm Musée du Louvre, Paris |
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| 1717 Pilgrimage to Cythera, so-called The Embarkation for Cythera detail |
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| 1717 Pilgrimage to Cythera, so-called The Embarkation for Cythera detail |
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| 1717-18 Les Champs Elysées oil on wood panel 31 x 42 cm Wallace Collection, London |
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| 1717-18 Les Champs Elysées detail |
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| 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 |
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| c1717-18 Ceres (Summer) oil on canvas 141.6 x 115.7 cm National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC |
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| c1717-18 Hunt meeting oil on canvas 124.5 x 189 cm The Wallace Collection, London |
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| c1717-18 Hunt meeting detail |
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| c1717-18 Hunt meeting detail |
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| c1717-18 The scale of love oil on canvas 50.8 x 59.7 cm The National Gallery, London |
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| c1717-19 Mezzetin oil on wood panel 27.7 x 21 cm The Wallace Collection, London |
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| 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 |
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| c1717 Seated woman holding a fan red, black, and white chalk 21.3 x 20.6 cm Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |
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| 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 |
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| 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 |