One of the most influential Rococo artists of the early 18th century was fascinated by an early form of theater and it reflects in his paintings. Jean-Antoine Watteau (1684-1721) invented a completely new genre of painting and this laid the foundation for the frivolous Rococo paintings in the following decades. In this article, we take …
Jean-Antoine Watteau
Although the career of Jean-Antoine Watteau (1684-1721) abruptly ended when he was still in his thirties, he left a permanent mark on the world of art. He invented an entirely new genre called “Fêtes Galantes,” depictions of people having a good time in extremely theatrical parkland surroundings. The idyllic settings of his paintings became the …
A frail artist from Valenciennes, a city in the northern part of France, moved to Paris in the early 18th-century to make a name for himself as a painter. While he only partially succeeded in his goal during his lifetime, this French artist did manage to transform the world of art in the 18th century …
The Baroque era was fading in France in the late 17th century. A more classical version of the usually overly theatrical Baroque was preferred during the reign of King Louis XIV. One particular French artist managed to revive the ideals of the 17th-century Baroque artists and transform them into a completely new era of frivolous …