Brief Biography-Antoine (Jean) Watteau was born in Valenciennes, the son of a tradesman. In his hometown, the artist Jacques-Albert Gérin took him on as an apprentice. Watteau painted his first notable work, La Vraie Gaieté, under this master.
In Paris, c. 1703, he entered the atelier of Claude Gillot, engraver, and illustrator. He learned much from Gillot and stayed with him for five years. In 1708, he worked with Claude Audran, the Keeper of the Luxembourg Palace. This relationship and recognition from Pierre Crozat, the collector, opened him to the great masters’ paintings. Rubens influenced him greatly, including many Venetian masters. David Teniers partly influenced his later style.
In 1709, he returned to Valenciennes, where he painted military scenes, but ambition quickly brought him back to Paris. In 1717, The Academy received him after a second attempt and gave him the newly named Peintre des Fêtes Galantes. Suffering from consumption, he went to London in 1719 to seek a cure; he stayed for a year but returned to die in 1721. His last masterpiece was Gersaint’s Signboard.
Jean-Baptiste Pater was a noted student, and he had a strong influence on Nicolas Lancret, who also studied under Gillot.