Why did Antoine Watteau’s reputation decline after his death?

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Watteau, Antoine: Mezzetin — Antoine Watteau *Mezzetin*, oil on canvas by Antoine Watteau, 1718–20; in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. 55.2 × 43.2 cm.

Following his death, Antoine Watteau’s reputation waned as the cultural priorities of the 18th century shifted. Because Watteau’s work centered on the free reign of fantasy, it fell out of favor as the Age of Reason progressed and artistic focus moved toward the observation of reality and, eventually, social protest.1

By the time of the French Revolution, his work faced harsh criticism; some contemporaries accused him of having infected the dwellings of his time with bad taste. It was not until the 19th century that his reputation began to revive, driven by the interest of poets and writers such as Charles Baudelaire, the Goncourt brothers, and Marcel Proust, who recognized the profound quality of his art.1