Antoine Watteau

Antoine Watteau was born in a part of Flanders which France had previously dominated. He later moved to Paris where he studied under Claude Gillot. Gillot enjoyed painting theatrical scenes which inspired Watteau and his work. Further, Watteau would go to theatres and observe any details that would serve the scene of the play being shown. He was able to learn the effects of artificial light such as slight shifts in colour on costumes or painted backgrounds and the emergence of deep shadows. These observations in his work later got him accepted to the Académie Royale where he would be distinguished as an artist of fêtes galantes. Fêtes galantes was a term that described art that contained nicely dressed people (likely aristocratic individuals), typically in a park setting, that engaged in playful actions. Despite having only lived 37 years, Watteau became one of the greatest artists in the 18th century and had a significant impact on the beginning of the Rococo movement.

Overall, Watteau’s work fascinates me. Although I am not very fond of the artificial lighting he perceives in his paintings, I do adore the idea of a graceful world where “it never rains.” (Gombrich 454) In my opinion, it sends me into a fantasy where nothing terrible happens. There is no chaos, no war, no controversy. It feels like everyone is always content. Ultimately, I believe that his popularity in that period was well-deserved.

Sources:

“Antoine Watteau.” Britannica, 2021, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Antoine-Watteau. Accessed 14 October 2021.

“Antoine Watteau (1684-1721).” The Met, 2003, https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/watt/hd_watt.htm. Accessed 14 October 2021.

“Fêtes Galantes.” The National Gallery, https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/glossary/fêtes-galantes. Accessed 14 October 2021.

Gombrich, Ernst. The Story of Art. 16th Edition, Phaidon Press Inc, 1995.