Jean-Marc Nattier (1685–1766) was a French portrait painter whose elegant depictions of royalty and aristocratic women are closely associated with the Rococo period and the court of Louis XV. His graceful compositions, delicate colours and finely observed fabrics made him one of the most sought-after portraitists in eighteenth-century France.
Born in Paris on 17 March 1685, Nattier grew up in an artistic family. His father, Marc Nattier, was a portrait painter, while his mother, Marie Courtois, worked as a miniaturist. He studied drawing from an early age and trained at the Royal Academy, also making copies of paintings by Peter Paul Rubens and Charles Le Brun.
As a young artist, Nattier hoped to establish himself as a history painter. In 1717 he travelled to the Netherlands, where he portrayed Peter the Great and Catherine of Russia. The Tsar reportedly invited him to work at the Russian court, but Nattier chose to return to Paris. He was admitted to the French Royal Academy in 1718.
From the 1730s, portraiture became the centre of his career. His paintings frequently presented fashionable women as figures from classical mythology, including Diana, Minerva and Hebe. These allegorical portraits combined recognisable likenesses with elaborate costumes, flattering poses and the pale, luminous colours of Rococo painting.
Nattier received commissions from members of the French royal family and painted several daughters of Louis XV. His portraits of Madame Henriette, Madame Adélaïde and Madame Sophie are among his characteristic court works. In Madame Sophie de France (1748), he depicted the princess in an embroidered court dress, holding a veil, with an emphasis on the textures of silk, lace and jewellery.
His son-in-law, the portrait painter Louis Tocqué, worked in a related style. Although Nattier’s popularity diminished later in life as tastes changed, his portraits remain important records of the appearance and ceremonial elegance of the French court.
Nattier died in Paris on 7 November 1766, aged 81.
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