Anquetin was born in Étrépagny, France, and educated at the Lycée Pierre Corneille in Rouen.
In 1882 he came to Paris and began studying art at Léon Bonnat's studio, where he met Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. The two artists later moved to the studio of Fernand Cormon, where they befriended Émile Bernard and Vincent van Gogh.
Around 1887, Anquetin and Bernard developed a painting style that used flat regions of color and thick, black contour outlines. This style, named cloisonnism by critic Edouard Dujardin, was inspired by both stained glass and Japanese ukiyo-e. One example of this can be seen in Avenue de Clichy: Five O’Clock in the Evening, argued by Dr. Bogomila Welsh-Ovcharov as being inspiration for Van Gogh's famous Cafe Terrace at Night.
He eventually fell from the public's eye after abandoning the modern movements, opting instead to study the methods of the Old Masters. Thus, Anquetin's works following the mid-1890s, such as Rinaldo and Armida, were especially Rubensian and allegorical in nature. In 1907 he met Jacques Maroger, a young artist who shared his interest, with whom he collaborated.
Later in life, Anquetin wrote a book on Rubens, which was published in 1924. He died in Paris.
Henri Samary 1880
Portrait of La Goulue 1880-1885
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec 1886
Intérieur de chez Bruant le Mirliton 1886
Portrait de Paul 1886
The Arbour 1886
The Peasant 1886
Kiosk on the Boulevard Clichy 1886-1887
Avenue de Clichy, five 1887
Avenue de Clichy, le soir, cinq heures 1887
Circus Scene. At the Circus 1887
Circus Scene. At the Circus 1887
Portrait d’Émile Bernar 1887
Equestrian Self Portrait 1887
Etude d'élégante, face et profil 1885-1890
Man sheltering beneath a tree 1887
Night Sail 1887
The Harvest 1887
Les Rousses de Maison close 1888
The Elegant Profile of Bal Mabille 1888
Albert Grenier 1889
Woman on the waterfront in 1889
Le Pont Neuf, Paris 1889
Le rond-point des Champs-Élysées 1889
Portrait of a man 1889
The Pont de l'Europe 1889
The Woman in Blue 1889
Two Ladies in the Wood 1889
Woman Combing Her Hair 1889
Woman in a Barouche 1889
Theatre Foyer 1889
Le Pont des Arts 1889
A Sitting Woman with Umbrella 1890
Bust of a Man. Self-Portrait 1890
Doctor Henri Bourges 1890
Femmes à leur toilette 1890
Girl Reading a Newspaper 1890
In the Street 1890
Jeune femme demi nue 1890
Portrait of a Woman 1890
Portrait of a Young Woman with Long Hair 1890
Portrait of Madame Valette 1890
Red haired woman with a blue hat 1890
Vase of Flowers 1890
Woman with a Veil 1890
Woman with Hat. Juliette 1890
Woman with Umbrella 1890
Young woman seated in a forest 1890
Profile of a Child. Profil d'Enfant 1890-1899
Woman in the Street 1890
Woman at the Champs-Élysées by Тight 1890-1891
At the Bar 1891
Femme a la Voilette 1891
In the Street 1891
Portrait of a Woman, possibly Marguerite Dufay 1891
