Antoine Watteau

>Antoine Watteau 2005-05-07T14:15:58Z RodC /* References */ '''Jean-Antoine Watteau''' ([[October 10]], [[1684]] - [[July 18]], [[1721]]) was a [[France|French]] [[painter]]. He was born in the [[Flanders|Flemish]] city of [[Valenciennes]], which had just been annexed by the French king [[Louis XIV]]. His father was a master tiler. Showing an early interest in [[painting]], he was apprenticed to [[Jacques-Albert Gérin]], a local painter. Having little to learn from Gérin, Watteau left for [[Paris]] in about [[1702]]. There he found employment in a workshop at [[Pont Notre-Dame]], making copies of popular [[genre painting]]s in the [[Flemish_painting|Flemish]]-[[Dutch_painting|Dutch]] tradition. [[Image:The Embarkation for Cythera.jpg|right|300px|thumb|The Embarkation for Cythera (Louvre version)]] In [[1703]], he was employed as an assistant by the painter [[Claude Gillot]]. In his studio he took contact with the characters of the ''[[commedia dell'arte]]'', a favorite subject of Gillot's, and one that would become one of Watteau's lifelong passions. Afterwards he moved to the workshop of [[Claude Audran III]], an [[interior decorator]], where he learned to imbue his drawing with the consummate elegance that has come to characterize it. Audran was the curator of the [[Palais du Luxembourg]], where Watteau was able to see the magnificent series of canvases painted by [[Peter Paul Rubens]] for Queen [[Maria de Medici]]. The Flemish painter would become one of his major influences, together with the [[Venetian_painting|Venetian]] masters he would later study in the collection of his patron and friend, the banker [[Pierre Crozat]]. In [[1709]], Watteau tried to obtain the [[Prix de Rome]], and was rejected by the Academy. In [[1712]] he tried again, and was considered so good that, instead of getting the one-year stay in [[Rome]] he was aiming for, he was accepted as a full member of the Academy. He took five years to deliver the required "[[reception piece]]", but it was one of his masterpieces, the ''Pilgrimage to Cythera'', also called the ''Embarkation for Cythera'' (many commentators, however, note that it depicts in fact a ''departure'' from the island of [[Cythera]], the birthplace of [[Venus (mythology)|Venus]], being thus a sign of the brevity of love). Interestingly, while Watteau's paintings seem to epitomize the aristocratic elegance of the ''[[Régence]]'' (though he actually lived most of his short life under the oppressive climate of [[Louis XIV]]'s later reign), he never had aristocratic [[patron]]s. His buyers were [[bourgeoisie|bourgeois]], such as bankers and dealers. Although his mature paintings seem to be so many depictions of frivolous ''fêtes galantes'', they in fact display a sober melancholy, and a sense of the ultimate meaninglessness of life, that make him, among [[18th century]] painters, one of the closest to modern sensibilities. In this he is far superior to his many imitators, like [[Nicolas Lancret]] and [[Jean-Baptiste Pater]], who borrowed his themes but couldn't capture his spirit. [[Image:WatteauPierrot.jpg|thumb|left|Watteau's ''[[commedia dell'arte]]'' player of [[Pierrot]], ''ca'' 1718-19, traditionally identified as "Gilles" ([[Louvre Museum|Louvre]])]] Among his most famous paintings are ''Pilgrimage to Cythera'' (two versions), ''Pierrot'' (long identified as ''"Gilles"''), ''Fêtes venitiennes'', ''Love in the Italian Theater'', ''Love in the French Theater'', ''"Voulez-vous triompher des belles?"'', ''Mezzetin'' and his last masterpiece, painted almost at his deathbed, the ''Shop-sign of Gersaint''. Watteau used to alarm his friends by the carelessness he displayed about his future and his financial security. He seemed to foresee that he wouldn't live for long. In [[1720]], becoming ill, he moved to [[England]] for a while, looking for a better climate, but returned in worse health. He died in [[Nogent-sur-Marne]] in [[1721]], at the age of 37. The ''Watteau dress'', a long, sacklike dress with loose pleats hanging from the shoulder at the back, similar to those worn by many of the women is his paintings, is named after him. == References == * Schneider, Pierre, ''The World of Watteau''. Time-Life Books, 1967. * Levey, Michael, ''Rococo to Revolution''. Thames and Hudson, 1966. == External links == *[http://www.kfki.hu/~arthp/html/w/watteau/antoine/1/index.html Watteau paintings at the Web Gallery of Art] [[Category:1684 births|Watteau, Antoine]] [[Category:1721 deaths|Watteau, Antoine]] [[Category:French painters|Watteau, Antoine]] [[de:Antoine Watteau]] [[es:Antoine Watteau]] [[fr:Antoine Watteau]] [[nl:Jean Antoine Watteau]] [[ja:アントワーヌ・ヴァトー]] [[sv:Antoine Watteau]]