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Lot Essay
This elegant early work by Jean-Marc Nattier stands as testimony the painter's precocious talent. Lying on golden clouds, Venus implores her lover, the handsome Adonis, to stay with her, but the young mortal is impatient to leave her for the hunt.
Executed in 1713, the composition reflects the various different influences that shaped Nattier's artistic career. Like many of his colleagues, he initially trained by copying the works of the great masters of the previous century, such as Charles Le Brun or, more relevantly in this case, Sir Peter Paul Rubens. The fleshy opulence of the Antwerp painter's mythological scenes and his way of forcing the figures to the forefront of his compositions also characterize Nattier's painting. Though deeply imbued with this northern influence, Nattier was also careful to underline his knowledge of Italian art; one example of this is the putto trying to ride the dog on the left, which recalls Titian's models. In the figure of Adonis, however, Nattier leaves his own mark more clearly, abandoning the pure classicism so clear in Venus for a more contemporary look. With his feathered hat, the young hunter could easily have been mistaken for an actor from the Théâtre-Français.
Although best known today for his portraits, most of Nattier's early works were history paintings, the genre favored by the Académie Royale. Amongst those that, like Venus and Adonis, pre-date his reception into the Académie, are Le Bon Samaritain, painted in 1708 (private collection), Vénus privant l'Amour de son arc, (musée des beaux-arts, Marseille, inv. no. 689) and Jupiter et Io surpris par Junon executed around 1717 (Peterhof, State Museum Reserve, pavillon de Monplaisir). It was as a history painter that Nattier was received by the Académie in 1718 with Persée, assisté par Minerve, pétrifie Phinée avec la tête de Méduse (Tours, musée de beaux-arts, inv. no. 803.1.17°).
Executed in 1713, the composition reflects the various different influences that shaped Nattier's artistic career. Like many of his colleagues, he initially trained by copying the works of the great masters of the previous century, such as Charles Le Brun or, more relevantly in this case, Sir Peter Paul Rubens. The fleshy opulence of the Antwerp painter's mythological scenes and his way of forcing the figures to the forefront of his compositions also characterize Nattier's painting. Though deeply imbued with this northern influence, Nattier was also careful to underline his knowledge of Italian art; one example of this is the putto trying to ride the dog on the left, which recalls Titian's models. In the figure of Adonis, however, Nattier leaves his own mark more clearly, abandoning the pure classicism so clear in Venus for a more contemporary look. With his feathered hat, the young hunter could easily have been mistaken for an actor from the Théâtre-Français.
Although best known today for his portraits, most of Nattier's early works were history paintings, the genre favored by the Académie Royale. Amongst those that, like Venus and Adonis, pre-date his reception into the Académie, are Le Bon Samaritain, painted in 1708 (private collection), Vénus privant l'Amour de son arc, (musée des beaux-arts, Marseille, inv. no. 689) and Jupiter et Io surpris par Junon executed around 1717 (Peterhof, State Museum Reserve, pavillon de Monplaisir). It was as a history painter that Nattier was received by the Académie in 1718 with Persée, assisté par Minerve, pétrifie Phinée avec la tête de Méduse (Tours, musée de beaux-arts, inv. no. 803.1.17°).