Charles Joseph Natoire

Key facts

Lived

1700–1777, French

Movement

• Rococo

1. 1700Born in Nimes, southern France. His Provencal upbringing infused his later Rococo compositions with a warmth and luminosity distinct from his Parisian contemporaries.
2. 1721Won the Prix de Rome at the age of 21, securing a scholarship to the French Academy in Rome. The Italian sojourn immersed him in Baroque ceiling painting and classical antiquity.
3. 1737Completed a major decorative cycle for the Hotel de Soubise in Paris, aged 37. The mythological ceiling panels rank among the finest surviving examples of French Rococo interior painting.
4. 1751Appointed director of the French Academy in Rome at the age of 51. He oversaw the training of a generation of French artists in the Eternal City for the next twenty-four years.
5. 1777Died in Castel Gandolfo, near Rome, aged 77. He had remained in Italy after his dismissal from the Academy in 1775, spending his final years sketching the Roman countryside in watercolour.

• What should I know about Charles Joseph Natoire's prints?+

  Charles Joseph Natoire (1700-1777) was a history painter and director of the Académie de France à Rome. After his death, his collection was auctioned in Paris in 1778. The sale catalogue, compiled by Alexandre Paillet, listed paintings, drawings, and sculptures, as well as a selection of ancient and modern gems and red wax sulphur pastes. Natoire's interest in antiquities seems to have begun during his travels to Rome in 1751. He acquired medals and other items in Nîmes. In Rome, he participated in hunts for "curiosities and antiquities". These "antiquailles" were not especially precious, but rather worn remnants of an earlier civilisation. The gems in Natoire's collection included intaglios and cameos. Intaglios are gems with recessed designs, often used as seals, while cameos are used as jewellery. Natoire displayed his treasures in his villa, setting them in niches and on pedestals. These objects connected him to the past, uniting his villa with the ruins beyond its walls.
• What techniques or materials did Charles Joseph Natoire use?+

  Charles Joseph Natoire initially trained with his father, a sculptor. He then apprenticed with academic history painters Louis Galloche and François Lemoyne. In 1721, Natoire won the Prix de Rome with his painting Manoah Offering a Sacrifice to the Lord. Natoire's paintings from the 1730s are considered paradigmatic Rococo images. His 1734 reception piece for the Académie Royale, Venus Demanding Arms from Vulcan for Aeneas, embodies the Rococo style through its emphasis on colour, painterly handling of flesh, and compositional lines created by the figures' gestures. The painting departs from three-dimensional space, presenting figures in a vertical orientation. Natoire received commissions to decorate royal châteaux, such as Versailles, Marly, and Fontainebleau. He also designed cartoons for the Gobelins and Beauvais factories. The sale catalogue of Natoire's collection mentions paintings and drawings by masters such as Pierre Subleyras and Jean-Paul Panini.
• What was Charles Joseph Natoire known for?+

  Charles Joseph Natoire (1700-1777) was a successful French painter. He is known for paintings that exemplify the Rococo style. Natoire initially trained with his father, a sculptor. He then apprenticed with history painters Louis Galloche and François Lemoyne. In 1721, Natoire won the Prix de Rome for his work, Manoah Offering a Sacrifice to the Lord. This award enabled him to study at the Académie de France in Rome. By 1730, Natoire was back in Paris, where his career flourished. He received a commission from Philibert Orry to create four series of paintings for Orry’s Château de La Chapelle-Godefroy. These included History of the Gods, The Four Seasons, The Story of Clovis, and The Story of Telemachus. The latter two series, drawing from French national history and literature, demonstrated both Orry's refined taste and Natoire's creative abilities. In 1734, Natoire became a full member of the Académie Royale. His reception piece, Venus Demanding Arms from Vulcan for Aeneas, is considered a prime example of Rococo art. Natoire secured commissions to decorate royal châteaux such as Versailles, Marly, and Fontainebleau. He also designed cartoons for manufactories, including a series of scenes from Don Quixote. From 1751, he directed the Académie de France in Rome for 25 years.
• When did Charles Joseph Natoire live and work?+

  Charles Joseph Natoire was born in 1700 and died in 1777. He was one of the most successful French painters of his generation. His paintings from the 1730s are considered paradigmatic Rococo images. Natoire initially trained with his father, a sculptor. He then apprenticed with academic history painters Louis Galloche (from 1670 to 1761) and François Lemoyne (from 1688 to 1737). In 1721, Natoire won the Prix de Rome for his work, Manoah Offering a Sacrifice to the Lord. This award funded his travel to the Académie de France in Rome two years later. By 1730, Natoire was back in Paris, and his career began to flourish. Between 1731 and 1740, he completed four series of paintings for Philibert Orry’s Château de La Chapelle-Godefroy in Saint-Aubin. These included nine canvases of the History of the Gods, the Four Seasons, six canvases of the Story of Clovis (Musée des Beaux Arts, Troyes), and six of the Story of Telemachus. In 1734, Natoire became a full member of the Académie Royale. His reception piece was Venus Demanding Arms from Vulcan for Aeneas (Musée Fabre, Montpellier). From 1751, he spent the last 25 years of his career as director of the Académie de France in Rome.
• Who did Charles Joseph Natoire influence?+

  Charles Joseph Natoire was a successful French painter whose pictures from the 1730s are considered paradigmatic Rococo images. He became director of the Académie de France in Rome in 1751, a position he held for the last 25 years of his career. In this role, Natoire influenced younger artists. He encouraged Jean-Honoré Fragonard and Hubert Robert to draw from nature and to cultivate an appreciation for picturesque views. Natoire's own drawings, such as Gardens of the Villa d’Este at Tivoli (1760, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York), used pen and brown ink, brown and grey wash, watercolour, and white, black, and red chalk. These drawings indicated a new direction for garden scenes in the hands of third-generation Rococo artists.
• Who was Charles Joseph Natoire?+

  Charles Joseph Natoire was one of the most successful French painters of his generation. His early training included working with his father, a sculptor, before he apprenticed with academic history painters Louis Galloche and François Lemoy.
• Why are Charles Joseph Natoire's works important today?+

  Charles Joseph Natoire was a successful French painter, a figurehead of the Rococo style. He initially trained with his sculptor father, then with history painters Louis Galloche and François Lemoyne. In 1721, Natoire won the Prix de Rome; this funded his travel to the Académie de France in Rome two years later. Back in Paris by 1730, Natoire's career flourished. He received a significant commission from Philibert Orry, who held positions in finance and within the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture. From 1731 to 1740, Natoire created four series of paintings for Orry’s Château de La Chapelle-Godefroy, including the History of the Gods, The Four Seasons, the Story of Clovis, and the Story of Telemachus. The latter two, with themes from French history and literature, were unusual for the period. In 1734, Natoire became a full member of the Académie Royale with his Venus Demanding Arms from Vulcan for Aeneas. This work epitomises the Rococo style, focusing on love and seduction rather than heroism. Natoire received commissions to decorate royal châteaux, such as Versailles and Fontainebleau, and designed cartoons for the Gobelins and Beauvais manufactories. From 1751, he spent 25 years as director of the Académie de France in Rome, encouraging artists such as Jean-Honoré Fragonard and Hubert Robert.
• What was Charles Joseph Natoire's art style?+

  Charles Joseph Natoire's paintings from the 1730s are paradigmatic Rococo images. He was one of the most successful French painters of his generation.
• When was Charles Joseph Natoire born?+

  Charles Joseph Natoire was born in 1700 in France. Charles Joseph Natoire died in 1777, aged 77.
• How did Charles Joseph Natoire die?+

  Charles Joseph Natoire died in 1777 at the age of 77.