Art Institute basement yields painting by French master

A cloudy, varnished painting buried in the basement of the ArtInstitute of Chicago and thought to be the product of an anonymousartist has turned out to be the work of Antoine Watteau, the greatestFrench painter and draftsman of the 18th century.

Art Institute officials, in announcing the discovery of "FeteChampetre" on Wednesday, called it the most dramatic event in adecadelong effort to research the museum's 17th and 18th centuryFrench and English collection.

Two museum specialists noticed the painting while examiningworks in a basement storage area. Almost immediately, LarryFeinberg, a curator in the European painting department, and FrankZuccari, …