Which later painters were influenced by Antoine Watteau’s art?

Antoine Watteau’s delicate, sketchlike technique and his wistful fantasies, known as fêtes galantes, served as foundational models for several later 18th-century French painters. Specifically, his influence is clearly reflected in the works of:

• Jean-Baptiste Pater: A direct follower who adopted the style and themes established by Watteau.1
• Nicolas Lancret: Another artist who utilized Watteau’s models to convey a similarly veiled eroticism in his own paintings.1

While François Boucher and Jean-Honoré Fragonard also worked within the Rococo idiom that Watteau helped define, their styles evolved to incorporate more explicit sensuality and different thematic focuses, such as pastoral scenes and amorous dalliance.12

Following a period of waning interest during the Age of Reason and the French Revolution, Watteau’s reputation saw a 19th-century resurgence. He was championed by poets such as Victor Hugo, Gérard de Nerval, and Théophile Gautier, and he was famously interpreted as a beacon of art by Charles Baudelaire.3