アントワーヌ・ヴァトー

Antoine Watteau (1684–1721) painted scenes of elegant leisure that transformed French art and defined the Rococo. Born in Valenciennes near the Belgian border, he trained in Paris under Claude Gillot and Claude Audran III, absorbing influences from Rubens and Venetian masters. He invented the fêtes galantes—theatrical gatherings of young lovers in pastoral settings—and drew obsessively from the commedia dell'arte, creating iconic figures like Pierrot and Mezzetin. His masterpiece, the Pilgrimage to Cythera (1717), secured his academy membership.