Jean-Antoine Watteau · 1684–1721
Jean-Antoine Watteau
Jean-Antoine Watteau (1684-1721) was an 18th-century French painter. He founded the fête galante, depicting aristocrats at leisure in the countryside, and died at 36.
Jean-Antoine Watteau was a leading painter who reflected the free, lively spirit of the 18th century. He portrayed the elegant manners of aristocrats and courtiers at play in the countryside with poetry and feeling, and created the genre known as the fête galante.
In 1717 he was admitted to the Royal Academy with The Pilgrimage to Cythera (Louvre Museum), and went on to complete many masterpieces. In 1719 he fell ill and went to England to recover, but without effect. After returning to France he moved to Nogent-sur-Marne, where he died of tuberculosis at 36. In Japan, Portrait of Antoine de La Roque is held.
Jean-Antoine Watteau was born on October 10, 1684 and died on July 18, 1721.
