Lot Essay
This drawing is preparatory for Jacob and Rachel leaving the House of Laban in the High Museum of Art, Atlanta, The Rococo Age, exhib. cat., 1983, no. 4, illustrated. The bearded man's head and the hand just below are preparatory for Jacob, and the woman's head and the other hand are for Rachel.
The painting was commissioned in 1732 by the duc d'Antin, Directeur général des bâtiments du Roi for his Paris Hôtel, along with two other Old Testament paintings. It was one of the first commissions that Natoire received after his return from the Académie de Rome in 1730. This decorative scheme was particularly important for Natoire, as it was with the protection of the duc d'Antin that he was allowed to go to Rome in 1723. The duc was a very influential figure, and Natoire, under his patronage, could have expected more commissions. Unfortunately the duc d'Antin died in 1736, and the paintings went instead to a church in Compiègne.
A finished preparatory drawing for the painting is at Strasbourg, published in the Atlanta catalogue, op. cit., fig. I.4
The painting was commissioned in 1732 by the duc d'Antin, Directeur général des bâtiments du Roi for his Paris Hôtel, along with two other Old Testament paintings. It was one of the first commissions that Natoire received after his return from the Académie de Rome in 1730. This decorative scheme was particularly important for Natoire, as it was with the protection of the duc d'Antin that he was allowed to go to Rome in 1723. The duc was a very influential figure, and Natoire, under his patronage, could have expected more commissions. Unfortunately the duc d'Antin died in 1736, and the paintings went instead to a church in Compiègne.
A finished preparatory drawing for the painting is at Strasbourg, published in the Atlanta catalogue, op. cit., fig. I.4