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Lot Essay
Born in Berlin in 1689 of French Hugenot parents, Mercier studied at the Berlin Akademie and under Antoine Pesne, before travelling to Italy and France. By the time he arrived in London, probably in 1716, he had a considerable familiarity with the work of contemporary French painters, particularly Watteau, and his sophisticated style soon won him patronage in court circles. By 1726 he had painted two important group portraits which may be seen as introducing the conversation piece to English Art -- Baron Schultz and his friends (1725, Tate Gallery, London) and Viscount Tyrconnel with his family (1725-6, private collection). In 1729, Mercier was appointed Principal Painter to Frederick, Prince of Wales, and, a year later, Keeper of his library, but they seem to have fallen out in the latter half of the 1730s, at which point he retired into the country, where he painted a number of portraits for the Samwell family of Upton, Northants, and the Hesilriges of Noseley, Warwicks.
In 1739 Mercier moved to York, where he built up a considerable portrait practice among the leading families of the county. It was at this time that he made his greatest contribution to British painting by introducing and developing the 'fancy picture', a genre derived from Chardin, as well as Watteau and 17th-century Dutch genre painting. Described by George Vertue as 'pieces of some figures of conversation as big as the life: conceited plaisant Fancies and habits: mixed modes really well done - and much approved off', such works were frequently engraved and clearly enjoyed considerable success. Painted in the second half of the 1730s, the present work, An Allegory of Taste, is a fine example of this mode of painting and its rococo sensibility reveals the artist's affinities with contemporary French art. Mercier was to return to the theme of the five senses in a series of large canvases executed in the mid 1740s (Mellon Collection, Yale Center for British Art). Although the later works are more complex in their treatment of the subjects, they lack the charm and lightness of handling found in the present composition.
In 1739 Mercier moved to York, where he built up a considerable portrait practice among the leading families of the county. It was at this time that he made his greatest contribution to British painting by introducing and developing the 'fancy picture', a genre derived from Chardin, as well as Watteau and 17th-century Dutch genre painting. Described by George Vertue as 'pieces of some figures of conversation as big as the life: conceited plaisant Fancies and habits: mixed modes really well done - and much approved off', such works were frequently engraved and clearly enjoyed considerable success. Painted in the second half of the 1730s, the present work, An Allegory of Taste, is a fine example of this mode of painting and its rococo sensibility reveals the artist's affinities with contemporary French art. Mercier was to return to the theme of the five senses in a series of large canvases executed in the mid 1740s (Mellon Collection, Yale Center for British Art). Although the later works are more complex in their treatment of the subjects, they lack the charm and lightness of handling found in the present composition.