Louis Joseph Watteau

Louis Joseph Watteau (10 April 1731 – 17 August 1798), known as the Watteau of Lille (a title also given to his son) was a French painter active in Lille.

Watteau was born in Valenciennes. His father Noël Joseph Watteau (1689–1756) was brother to Jean-Antoine Watteau, a painter of fêtes galantes, and he was himself father to the painter François Watteau.

He played a decisive role in the foundation of what would become the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lille, opened in 1803, by producing the first ever inventory of paintings confiscated by the state during the French Revolution.

He died in Lille, aged 67.

Works La Jolie colombe, oil on wood, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Valenciennes La 14ème expérience aérostatique de M. Blanchard, oil on canvas, Musée de l'Hospice Comtesse, Lille Le Bombardement de Lille, oil on canvas, Musée de l'Hospice Comtesse, Lille Le retour des Aéronautes Blanchard et Lépinard, oil on canvas, Musée de l'Hospice Comtesse, Lille