Watteau, Antoine

(1684-1721)

   painter

   One of the greatest rococo artists, Antoine Watteau was born in Valenciennes, where he was apprenticed to a local painter. He began by drawing street scenes. in 1702, he went to Paris, where a merchant hired him to paint religious pictures and scenes done in the Dutch style. By 1704, he was painting genre scenes and actors and scenes from the com-media dell'arte, from which he gained an interest in theatrical costumes. in 1708, he began to work with master rococo artists and also discovered the collection of Ruben's painting in the Luxembourg Palace gallery and became interested in landscapes. Winning second prize in the prix de Rome, he sold his painting La Recrue so he could return to Valenciennes and was at the same time commissioned to paint La Halte. in his native town, he continued to paint and draw military scenes, in which he further developed his own style and techniques (Les Délassements de la guerre). Returning to Paris in 1710, he was named an associate of the Academy of Art in 1712. Around 1715, he became known in the salons, where he met the intellectual and artistic elite of the period and could further study the collections of the Flemish and italian masters, especially the Venetians. Given the title of "painter of fêtes galantes" by the academy, he was also interested in nudes and mythological scenes (Jupiter et Antiope). in 1717, he presented his masterpiece, L'Embarquement pour Cythère at the academy, having also done a second version for the king of Prussia. While Watteau's canvases reflect the influence of previous masters, his own distinctive style dominates and demonstrates his feeling for light and color, sensuousness, and lyrical grace. other rococo painters would imitate Watteau but failed to replicate his dreamlike qualities. Besides fêtes galantes, clowns, and harlequins (Pierrot, Harlequin et Columbine), as an acute observer, he made a signboard (L'Enseigne de Gersaint, 1720) for a art dealer's shop, which is a masterpiece of realism in its design and composition; its coloration would later influence the impressionists. Because he has been widely copied, there are often problems in the authentication of Watteau's works.