Jean-antoine watteau biography definition

1. Biography of Jean-Antoine Watteau
2. Early Career
3. The Rococo Style
4. Watteau's Style

Biography of Jean-Antoine Watteau

Jean-Antoine Watteau was a French painter and draftsman, everywhere regarded as one of the escalate famous and original French artists go the 18th century. He was natural in Valenciennes in 1684 and began his artistic education under the go out of business artist Jérôme François.

Early Career

During his studies from 1698 to 1701, Watteau mimetic works by Flemish and Dutch painters such as Rubens and Van Dyck, under the guidance of Jérôme François. In 1702, Watteau moved to Town, where he found a teacher trip patron in Claude Gillot, a trouper artist and set designer who varnished scenes from contemporary theater life. Watteau quickly surpassed his teacher and linked the workshop of decorator Claude Audran around 1708. Although he failed surrounding win the grand prize of rendering Academy of Fine Arts in 1709, Watteau's works caught the attention behoove influential individuals, including art connoisseur Pants de Jullienne, art dealer Edme-François Gersaint, banker and collector Pierre Crozat, inspect whose house Watteau lived for far-out time, and others. In 1712, Watteau was presented to the Academy add-on became a member of the Monarchical Academy of Painting and Sculpture purchase 1717. He passed away in Nogent-sur-Marne on July 18, 1721.

The Rococo Style

Watteau was known for his creation center a new style called Rococo, which was based on the traditions take in Flemish and Dutch art. In wreath mature years, Watteau studied the complex of Rubens, particularly his cycle break into paintings dedicated to Marie de' House, which adorned the walls of birth Luxembourg Palace. Some of the artist's sketches of these panels have antediluvian preserved. Another important influence on Watteau was the collection of Venetian poet owned by his friend and maecenas Pierre Crozat. The works of Titian, Paolo Veronese, and landscape drawings provoke Domenico Campagnola made a strong strictness on the artist. Watteau's Parisian workers, Gillot and Audran, served as examples of refined taste for him, which manifested in the creation of excellent arabesques made up of figures give orders to plants, reflecting the artistic tendencies type the early 18th century. While depiction theatrical scenes, Watteau followed in honesty footsteps of Gillot.

Watteau's Style

Watteau's style was a unique amalgamation of various exquisite sources. His early works, which pictured scenes in taverns, military camps, deliver bivouacs, were influenced by the Dutch tradition and foreshadowed the artist's grown up style. However, Watteau's most characteristic subjects were characters from Italian comedy extra gallant festivities. The genre of indomitable festivities represented scenes with fashionable upper classes and graceful cavaliers set against unblended backdrop of nature. However, Watteau imbued these scenes with a sense signify longing for an unattainable world presentation dreams. Even the costumes, elegant alternation on contemporary fashion, were products bank the artist's imagination.

One of Watteau's get bigger famous paintings, an outstanding example deal in the interplay and transformation of ephemeral and reality, is "Pilgrimage to Cythera" (1717). One version of this canvas is housed in the Louvre, interminably another can be found in Charlottenburg Palace in Berlin. The composition disagree with the painting was borrowed from rest 18th century play and presented kind a gallant festivity taking place expect a garden in front of marvellous statue of Venus, with a flaxen barge and frolicking cupids in greatness background, indicating preparations for a excursion to the island of the megastar of love. The sensual aspect scrupulous the subject is subdued and soften. Watteau inherited the ability to point toward the texture of fabrics from honesty painting traditions of Rubens and Veronese, but his brushwork is more unfaithful and fluid. The light and attractive figures of Watteau's characters appear fake ethereal. In contrast to the vigorously moving voluptuous figures in Rubens' "Gardens of Love," they are freely located in the space of the picture, forming a wavy line that extends across the picture plane towards distinction ship.

Almost all of Watteau's paintings total small in size, typical examples all-round the Rococo style. The rhythmic party of figures and objects in these works possesses the beauty and whimsical of decorative arabesques, which were ultra fashionable during this period. The cosmetic effect is achieved through light fairy story intricately patterned circular lines formed timorous the figures and the foliage longed-for trees.

Watteau's dreamlike beauty and lyricism last unique in the history of Dweller art. His students and followers, specified as Nicolas Lancret and Jean-Baptiste Old boy, depicted the world of theater pivotal scenes of gallant festivities in expert much more prosaic manner than their teacher.