Two Cousins (French: Les Deux Cousines) is a small oil painting by the French Rococo artist Antoine Watteau, dated to 1716 and now in the Department of Paintings of the Louvre in Paris. Measuring just 30.5 × 36 cm, the work belongs to the intimate, pastoral mode that Watteau developed alongside his more famous fêtes galantes, depicting two young women in a lush landscape rather than the theatrical, courtly scenes for which he is best known.

Date and attribution: the 1716 Louvre painting

The verified catalogue record for Two Cousins gives its inception as 1716, its dimensions as 30.5 × 36 cm, and its location as the Department of Paintings of the Louvre ^[3][4]. The Louvre's own collection record serves as the primary source for the work's attribution to Watteau ^[4]. A related print after the composition, engraved by Bernard Baron in the 18th century, is held by the Harvard Art Museums, confirming the painting's circulation through reproductive prints during Watteau's century ^[5].

Technique: the Rococo revival of colour and movement

Watteau's brief career, from his baptism in 1684 in Valenciennes to his death in 1721, is credited with reviving interest in colour and movement in the tradition of Correggio and Rubens ^[1]. He revitalized the waning Baroque style, shifting it toward the less severe, more naturalistic, and less formally classical mode that became known as Rococo ^[1]. In a small work such as Two Cousins, this manifests in the soft handling of the landscape setting and the relaxed, informal poses of the figures, which carry the bucolic charm Watteau brought to his scenes ^[1].

Iconography: the fête galante and the pastoral mode

Watteau is credited with inventing the genre of the fête galante — scenes of bucolic and idyllic charm, suffused with a theatrical air ^[1]. While Two Cousins lacks the overt theatricality of works drawn from Italian comedy and ballet — subjects for which Watteau is best known — its two female figures seated in a landscape belong to the same pastoral imagination ^[1]. The painting's title, recorded in the Louvre's documentation, emphasizes the familial relationship between the sitters, a theme Watteau explored in several compositions of the mid-1710s ^[3][4].

Provenance: from the Louvre to a Harvard print

The painting's ownership chain is documented through the Louvre's collection record ^[4]. The related engraving by Bernard Baron, however, has a fuller recorded provenance: it belonged to Hugh Lupus Grosvenor, 1st Duke of Westminster, at Eaton Hall, Cheshire, by 1884, and descended in that family until sold through Christie's, London, on July 15, 2015 (lot 172); it then passed to a private collection in the United Kingdom and was acquired by the Harvard Art Museums in 2017 through C. G. Boerner LLC, New York ^[5].

Item	Date	Collection	Dimensions
Two Cousins (painting)	1716	Department of Paintings, Louvre	30.5 × 36 cm
The Two Cousins (engraving by Bernard Baron)	18th century	Harvard Art Museums	Plate: 33.8 × 38.5 cm

Watteau's career: from Valenciennes to the Académie

Jean-Antoine Watteau was born in October 1684 in Valenciennes, once an important town in the County of Hainaut, which became part of the Burgundian and Habsburg Netherlands until its secession to France following the Franco-Dutch War ^[1]. He was the second of four sons born to Jean-Philippe Watteau (1660–1720) and Michelle Lardenois (1653–1727), and was presumed to be of Walloon descent ^[1]. The family was quite well-to-do, although Jean-Philippe, a roofer in the second generation, was said to be given to brawling ^[1]. Watteau's career, though brief, established him as a French painter and draughtsman whose influence on colour and movement proved lasting ^[1][2].

Frequently asked questions

When was Two Cousins painted?

The Louvre's catalogue dates the painting to 1716 ^[3][4].

Where is Two Cousins today?

The painting is in the Department of Paintings of the Louvre in Paris ^[3][4].

What is Watteau's significance in art history?

Watteau is credited with inventing the genre of the fête galante and with revitalizing the Baroque style into the more naturalistic, less formal Rococo mode ^[1].