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Jean-Marc Nattier (17 March 1685 – 7 November 1766) was a French painter. He was born in Paris, the second son of Marc Nattier (1642–1705), a portrait painter, and of
Marie Courtois Marie Courtois (c. 1655 – 13 October 1703) was a French miniature painter. She was a pupil of Le Brun. In 1675 she married Marc Nattier (1642–1705), a portrait painter. They were the parents of the more famous portrait painter Jean-Marc Natti ...
(1655–1703), a miniaturist. He is noted for his portraits of the ladies of King Louis XV's court in classical mythological attire.


Life

He received his first instruction from his father, and from his uncle, the history painter Jean Jouvenet (1644–1717). He enrolled in the
Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...
in 1703 and applied himself to copying pictures in the
Luxembourg Palace The Luxembourg Palace (french: Palais du Luxembourg, ) is at 15 Rue de Vaugirard in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. It was originally built (1615–1645) to the designs of the French architect Salomon de Brosse to be the royal residence of th ...
, making a series of drawings of the Marie de Médici painting cycle by
Peter Paul Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque tradi ...
. The publication (1710) of engravings based on these drawings made Nattier famous, but he declined to proceed to the
French Academy in Rome The French Academy in Rome (french: Académie de France à Rome) is an Academy located in the Villa Medici, within the Villa Borghese, on the Pincio (Pincian Hill) in Rome, Italy. History The Academy was founded at the Palazzo Capranica in ...
, though he had taken the first prize at the Paris Academy at the age of fifteen. In 1715 he went to
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
, where
Peter the Great Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from t ...
was then staying, and painted portraits of the tsar and the
empress Catherine , en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes , house = , father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst , mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp , birth_date = , birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anhal ...
, but declined an offer to go to Russia. Nattier aspired to be a history painter. Between 1715 and 1720 he devoted himself to compositions like the "Battle of Pultawa", which he painted for Peter the Great, and the "Petrification of
Phineus In Greek mythology, Phineus (; Ancient Greek: Φινεύς, ) or Phineas, was a king of Salmydessus in Thrace and seer, who appears in accounts of the Argonauts' voyage. Some accounts make him a king in PaphlagoniaScholia on Apollonius of Rhod ...
and of his Companions", which led to his election to the Academy. He died in Paris in 1766.


Portraits

The financial collapse of 1720 caused by the schemes of
Law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
all but ruined Nattier, who found himself forced to devote his whole energy to portraiture, which was more lucrative. He became the painter of the artificial ladies of
Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reache ...
's court. He subsequently revived the genre of the allegorical portrait, in which a living person is depicted as a Greco-Roman goddess or other mythological figure. Nattier's graceful and charming portraits of court ladies in this mode were very fashionable, partly because he could beautify a sitter while also retaining her likeness. The most notable examples of his straightforward portraiture are the "Marie Leczinska" at the Dijon Museum, and a group of the artist surrounded by his family,"The Artist Surrounded by His Family", dated 1730. Another excellent example of Nattier’s work and sense of composition is his 1738 portrait of Mathilde de Carbonnel-Canisy, marquise d’Antin. The portrait is permanently exhibited at the
musée Jacquemart-André The Musée Jacquemart-André ( en, Jacquemart-André Museum) is a private museum located at 158 Boulevard Haussmann in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. The museum was created from the private home of Édouard André (1833–1894) and Nélie Jacq ...
in Paris and remains one of the most popular works in the Jacquemart-André Collection. Many of his notable paintings are on permanent exhibit at major museums. Thus at the
Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...
is his "Magdalen"; in the Musee Jacquemart-Andre his ''
Portrait of Mathilde de Canisy, marquise d'Antin ''Portrait of Mathilde de Canisy, marquise d'Antin'' is a 1738 oil on canvas portrait by Jean-Marc Nattier, produced ten years before he became official painter to the French royal family. It is now in the musée Jacquemart-André in Paris. Interes ...
''; at Nantes the portrait of " La Camargo" and "A Lady of the Court of Louis XV". At Orléans a "Head of a Young Girl", at Marseilles a portrait of "
Mme de Pompadour Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour (, ; 29 December 1721 – 15 April 1764), commonly known as Madame de Pompadour, was a member of the French court. She was the official chief mistress of King Louis XV from 1745 to 1751, and rema ...
", at Perpignan a portrait of Louis XV, and at Valenciennes a portrait of " Le Duc de Boufflers". The Versailles Museum owns an important group of two ladies, and the Dresden Gallery a portrait of the "Maréchal de Saxe". At the Wallace collection Nattier is represented by "The comtesse de Tillières" (formerly known as "Portrait of a Lady in Blue"), "Mademoiselle de Clermont en sultane", and "The marquise de Belestat". In the early part of the 20th century in the collection of Mr Lionel Phillips were the duchess of Flavacourt as "Le Silence", and the duchess of Châteauroux as "Le Point du jour" (now at Marseilles). A portrait of the Comtesse de Neubourg and her Daughter formed part of the Vaile Collection, and realized 4500
guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...
s at the sale of this collection in 1903. Nattier's works have been engraved by Alphonse Leroy, Tardieu, Jean Audran (1667–1756), Dupin and many other noted craftsmen.The 1753 ''Marquis de Marigny'' is in the collection of the
Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe The Staatliche Kunsthalle (State Art Gallery) is an art museum in Karlsruhe, Germany. The museum, created by architect Heinrich Hübsch, opened in 1846 after nine years of work in a neoclassical building next to the Karlsruhe Castle and the ...
. The Getty Museum has "Madame Bonier de la Mosson as Diana", 1742. The Metropolitan Museum of Art has "Madame de Maison-Rouge as Diana", 1756. The 1744 "Duchesse de Chartres as Hebe Nationalmuseum" is in the collection of Nationalmuseum.


Select gallery

File:Jean-Marc Nattier, Pierre Ier (1717).jpg,
'' Tsar Peter I''
(1717)
Saint Petersburg,
Hermitage Museum The State Hermitage Museum ( rus, Государственный Эрмитаж, r=Gosudarstvennyj Ermitaž, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj ɪrmʲɪˈtaʂ, links=no) is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is the list of ...
File:Nattier Adam Tarło.jpg,
'' Adam Tarło''
(1740)
Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
, Royal Castle
File:Jean-Marc Nattier, Madame de Pompadour en Diane (1746).jpg,
'' Madame de Pompadour'' ''as Diana the Huntress''
(1746)
Versailles, Musée national du Château et des Trianons
File:Marie Leszczyńska, reine de France, lisant la Bible by Jean-Marc Nattier, 002.jpg,
''
Marie Leszczyńska Maria Karolina Zofia Felicja Leszczyńska (; ; 23 June 1703 – 24 June 1768), also known as Marie Leczinska, was Queen of France as the wife of King Louis XV from their marriage on 4 September 1725 until her death in 1768. The daughter of Stanis ...
'', ''Queen of France, Reading the Bible''
(1748)
Versailles, Musée national du Château et des Trianons
File:Jean-Marc Nattier, The Comtesse de Tillières (1750; before retouching) - 01.jpg,
''The Comtesse de Tillières''
(1750)
London,
Wallace Collection The Wallace Collection is a museum in London occupying Hertford House in Manchester Square, the former townhouse of the Seymour family, Marquesses of Hertford. It is named after Sir Richard Wallace, who built the extensive collection, along ...
File:Jean-Marc Nattier, Madame Adélaïde de France faisant des nœuds (1756) - 002.jpg,
'' Madame Adélaïde de France'' ''Tying Knots''
(1756)
Versailles, Musée national du Château et des Trianons
File:Éléonore Louise Le Gendre de Berville (1740-1761) marquise du Hallay-Coëtquen (A).jpg,
''Éléonore Louise Le Gendre de Berville'' (1740-1761)
Marquise du Hallay-Coëtquen
(1751)
Private collection, Paris
Image:Jean-Marc Nattier, La Justice châtiant l'Injustice.jpg,
''Justice punishing Injustice''
(1737)
Justice is represented by
Madame Adélaïde de France

Private collection, Paris


Sources


''Nattier: Jean-Marc Nattier''
Masters in Art: A Series of Illustrated Monographs: Issued Monthly; June, 1902, Part 30, Vol. 3, (Bates & Guild Co., Boston)


References

; Endnotes: *See "J. M. Nattier", by
Paul Mantz Albert Paul Mantz (August 2, 1903 – July 8, 1965) was a noted air racing pilot, movie stunt pilot and consultant from the late 1930s until his death in the mid-1960s. He gained fame on two stages: Hollywood and in air races. Early years Ma ...
, in the ''Gazette des beaux-arts'' (1894) * ''Life of Nattier'', by his daughter, Madame Tocqué * ''Nattier'' by
Pierre de Nolhac Pierre Girault de Nolhac (15 December 1859, Ambert – 31 January 1936, Paris), known as Pierre de Nolhac, was a French historian, art historian and poet. Biography After studying at Le Puy-en-Velay, in Rodez and Clermont-Ferrand, Pierre d ...
(1904, revised 1910) * ''French Painters of the XVIIIth Century'', by Lady Dilke (London, 1899). {{DEFAULTSORT:Nattier, Jean-Marc 1685 births 1766 deaths Painters from Paris Burials at Saint-Eustache, Paris Court painters 18th-century French painters French male painters French history painters French portrait painters 18th-century French male artists