1700 -1777 · French Rococo and Academy of Rome

Gallant mythologies, large decorations and Roman drawings place Charles-Joseph Natoire among the masters of French rococo, at the crossroads of narrative grace and academic discipline.

Born in Nîmes in 1700 into the family of a sculptor, Charles-Joseph Natoire trained in Paris with Louis Galloche then François Lemoyne. First prize in painting in 1721, he stayed at the French Academy in Rome from 1723 to 1728, where the study of Antiquity, Raphael and the Italian landscape lastingly shaped his art. Back in Paris, he received important religious, mythological and decorative commissions. His cycle of the History of Psyche for the Hôtel de Soubise was among the major ensembles of rococo decor. Received at the Royal Academy in 1734, he received important religious, mythological and decorative commissions. His cycle of the History of Psyche for the Hôtel de Soubise was among the major ensembles of rococo decor. Received at the Royal Academy in 1734, he received important religious, mythological and decorative commissions. His cycle of the History of Psyche for the Hôtel de Soubise was among the major ensembles of rococo decor. Received at the Royal Academy in 1734, he received important religious, mythological and decorative commissions. His cycle of the History of Psyche for the Hôtel de Soubise was among the major ensembles of rococo decor. Received at the Royal Academy in 1734, he received important religious, mythological and decorative commissions. His cycle of favors teaching and landscape drawing, accompanying residents in the Roman countryside. He died in Castel Gandolfo in 1777. The "Charles-Joseph Natoire" selection notably compares Manué offering a sacrifice to the Lord and Erato serenading. His reading favors the material.

Natoire unites the clarity of the story with rococo flexibility: gestures, fabrics and architectures lead the gaze without ever weighing down the scene.