Lancret, Nicolas

Lancret, Nicolas (b Paris, 22 Jan. 1690; d Paris, 14 Sept. 1743).
French painter. He studied under Claude Gillot, who slightly earlier had taught Watteau, and he became a great admirer of Watteau's work, imitating the style and themes he had made popular. In 1719 he was received into the Académie Royale in Paris as a painter of fêtes galantes—a category that had been created especially for Watteau only two years earlier. Although his work is prosaic compared with Watteau's, it has great charm and he had a successful career. He is well represented in the Wallace Collection, London.