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| 1721 Portrait of Jean-Antoine Watteau pastel on paper 55 x 43 cm Luigi Bailo Museum, Treviso, Italy |
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 1 of a 5-part series on the works of Jean-Antoine Watteau:
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| before 1694 Arcadian Landscape sanguine on paper 39.6 x 60.4 cm Musée du Louvre, Paris |
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| before 1699 Actor, standing, turned to the left, leaning on a long stick sanguine on paper 14.5 x 8.9 cm Musée du Louvre, Paris |
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| before 1699 Two soldiers in French Guard costume sanguine on paper 14.1 x 13.2 cm Musée du Louvre, Paris |
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| by 1700 The Adventurer brown wash: counter-proof (size not given) Musée du Louvre, Paris |
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| 1700s Woman Seated etching on paper (size not given) The Cleveland Museum of Art, Ohio |
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| 1705-11 A fabric merchant's shop red chalk (size not given ) Louvre, Paris |
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| c1705-21 Standing Man with a Stick red chalk on paper 10.9 x 15.3 cm Boijmans Van Beunigen, Rotterdam |
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| 1706-10 The Country Dance oil on canvas 50 x 60 cm Museum of Art, Indianapolis |
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| c1708-09 Children parodying a Triumph of Bacchus red chalk with grey wash on laid paper 17 x 21.6 cm National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC |
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| 1709-10 The Embarkation for Cythera oil on canvas (size not given) Städel Art Institute, Frankfurt am Main, Germany |
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| 1709-10 Two standing soldiers, one wearing a hat red chalk on laid paper 14.3 x 8 cm National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC |
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| c1709-10 Three studies of a soldier red chalk on laid paper 14.5 x 20.4 cm Courtauld Institute of Art, London Photo © The Courtauld Institute |
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| c1709-12 Study of four resting soldiers and a standing woman red chalk on paper 17.9 x 19.8 cm Boijmans Van Beunigen, Rotterdam |
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| c1709-12 Two pilgrims and a standing woman in profile red chalk on paper 16.5 x 20 cm Städel Museum, Frankfurt, Germany |
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| 1709-13 Study of a female figure, standing red chalk on laid paper 12.8 x 8.3 cm Courtauld Institute of Art, London Photo © The Courtauld Institute |
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| c1709 A bewigged painter seated at his easel red chalk on buff laid paper, laid down on cream laid card 201.1 x 13.4 cm Art Institute of Chicago, IL |
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| c1709 The Rest oil on canvas 32 x 42.5 cm Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid |
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| c1709 The Rest detail |
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| c1709 The Rest detail |
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| 1710 A shepherd and shepherdess seated under a tree red chalk with black chalk on laid paper 22.8 x 17 cm National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC |
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| c1710 Title page etching in black on ivory laid paper 11.3 x 7.3 cm |
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| 1710 Walking woman holding her skirt etching in black on ivory laid paper 12.5 x 8 cm |
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| Seated woman leaning against a plinth etching in black on ivory laid paper 11.2 x 7.1 cm |
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| Standing man leaning on his elbow etching on cream laid paper 12.6 x 7.9 cm |
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| Standing man with a hat, facing left etching on ivory laid paper 11.7 x 7.1 cm |
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| Standing man with hand in vest etching on ivory laid paper 11.9 x 7.3 cm |
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| Standing man with hand on basin etching in black on ivory laid paper 11.1 x 6.9 cm |
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| Walking woman holding her skirt etching in black on ivory laid paper 11 x 7.3 cm |
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| Woman seen from behind etching in black on ivory laid paper 10.9 x 6.9 cm |
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| 1710-11 Three studies of a gentleman red chalk on ivory laid paper 16.6 x 20.2 cm Art Institute of Chicago, IL |
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| c1710-12 Soldiers playing cards in front of a wall red chalk on paper 16.2 x 21.3 cm Städel Museum, Frankfurt, Germany |
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| c1710-21 Les Champs Elisées oil on walnut panel 31.2 x 41 cm The Wallace Collection, London |
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| c1710-21 Les Champs Elisées detail |
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| c1710-21 Les Champs Elisées detail |
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| c1710-21 Seated woman with a fan red and black chalk, heightened with white, on brown paper 22.8 x 22.7 cm Boijmans Van Beunigen, Rotterdam |
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| c1710 Study for the "Embarkation for Cythera" brush on paper (?) 36.7 x 26.9 cm National Galleries, Scotland |
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| 1717 Pilgrimage to Cythera (The Embarkation for Cythera) oil on canvas 120 x 190 cm Louvre, Paris |
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| 1717 Pilgrimage to Cythera (The Embarkation for Cythera) detail |
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| 1717 Pilgrimage to Cythera (The Embarkation for Cythera) detail |
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| 1710c Military Officer standing etching and engraving (finished by Henri-Simon Thomassin (French, 1687–1741) 12.8 x 8.1 cm Philadelphia Museum of Art, PA |
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| 1710c Military Officer standing in a park etching and engraving 11.6 x 7.3 cm (plate) Philadelphia Museum of Art, PA |
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| c1710 Seated figure of an old savoyard with a marmot box red and black chalks on paper 30.5 x 20.1 cm © The Trustees of the British Museum, London |
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| c1710 Studies of foot-soldiers, a drummer and two Cavaliers red chalk on paper 16 x 19.5 cm National Galleries, Scotland |
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| c1710 Study of a standing dancer with an outstretched arm black, red, and white chalk 27.2 x 18.9 cm Boijmans Van Beunigen, Rotterdam |
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