Little known during his lifetime beyond a small circle of his devotees, Watteau "was mentioned but seldom in contemporary art criticism and then usually reprovingly". Sir
Michael Levey once noted that Watteau "created, unwittingly, the concept of the individualistic artist loyal to himself, and himself alone". If his immediate followers, Lancret and Pater, would depict the unabashed frillery of aristocratic romantic pursuits, Watteau in a few masterpieces anticipates an art
about art, the world of art as seen through the eyes of an artist. In contrast to the Rococo whimsicality and licentiousness cultivated by
Boucher and
Fragonard in the later part of
Louis XV's reign, Watteau's theatrical panache is usually tinged with a note of sympathy, wistfulness, and sadness at the transience of love and other earthly delights. Famously, the
Victorian essayist
Walter Pater wrote of Watteau: "He was always a seeker after something in the world, that is there in no satisfying measure, or not at all." Watteau was a prolific draftsman. His drawings, typically executed in
trois crayons technique, were collected and admired even by those, such as
count de Caylus or Gersaint, who found fault with his paintings. A revived vogue for Watteau began in England during the
British Regency, and was later encapsulated by the
Goncourt brothers in France (
Edmond de Goncourt having published a in 1875) and the
World of Art union in Russia. In 1984 Watteau societies were created in Paris, by
Jean Ferré, and London, by Dr. Selby Whittingham. A major exhibition in Paris, Washington and Berlin commemorated the 1984 tercentenary of his birth. Since 2000 a Watteau centre has been established at Valenciennes by Professor Chris Rauseo. A catalogue raisonné of Watteau's drawings has been compiled by
Pierre Rosenberg and Louis-Antoine Prat, replacing the one by Sir
Karl Parker and Jacques Mathey; similar projects on his paintings are undertaken by Alan Wintermute and
Martin Eidelberg, respectively. From September 22–November 29, 2009, the Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibited
Watteau, Music, and Theater in honor of Director Emeritus
Philippe de Montebello. The exhibit displayed Watteau's paintings and drawings of the opera-ballet and theater, as well as musical instruments and porcelains. A catalog accompanied the exhibit. From July 12, 2016 to October 2, 2016, the Frick Collection exhibited ''Watteau's Soldiers: Scenes of Military Life in Eighteenth-Century France''. The exhibit shows Watteau's focus “on the most prosaic aspects of war — marches, halts, and encampments. The resulting works show the quiet moments between the fighting, when soldiers could rest and daydream, smoke pipes and play cards.” The catalog was written by Aaron Wile From November 23, 2021–February 20, 2022, The J. Paul Getty Museum exhibited
The Surprise: Watteau in the J. Paul Getty Museum, marking the 300th anniversary of Watteau's death and celebrating the Getty's acquisition of
The Surprise. From 16 October 2024–3 February 2025, the Louvre exhibited A new look at
Watteau An actor with no lines: Pierrot, known as Gilles. The exhibit examined Gilles and the painting's influence on other artists. A catalog,
Pierrot, dit Le Gilles, de Watteau. Un comédien sans réplique, by Guillaume Faroult (in French) accompanied the exhibit. ==Gallery==