Portrait of a Lady as Diana (Primary Title)

Jean Marc Nattier, French, 1685-1766 (Artist)

1744
French
oil on canvas
Framed: 48 × 40 1/2 in. (121.92 × 102.87 cm)
Unframed: 39 1/2 × 32 in. (100.33 × 81.28 cm)
49.18.2
Not on view
Nattier was a supremely fashionable portraitist during the reign of Louis XV (r. 1715–75), often showing his aristocratic sitters in classical guise. He so skillfully prettified this young lady that she had been fancifully identified as the royal mistress of Louis XV, Madame de Pompadour. Though this pretentious assertion has now been disproved, no alternative has been proposed.
Gift of Mrs. A. D. Williams
1993 "Portraits in Europe: 1500-1850", VMFA, August 3 - November 7, 1993

1967-68 VMFA Artmobile: "The Age of Elegance and Grandeur", August 1967-Junr 1968.
Image released via Creative Commons CC-BY-NC

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