Jean Marc Nattier and Studio

Paris, Hôtel George V, 14 April 1988, lot 57 (as Attributed to Nattier).

Mexico City, Museo Nacional de San Carlos, María Magdalena: éstasis y arrepentimiento, 17 May-2 September 2001, p. 195, no. 68.

X. Salmon, Jean-Marc Nattier, 1685-1766, exhibition catalogue, Versailles 1999-2000, p. 160, under no. 37;
O. Delenda, "La Magdalena: ¿una santa francesa?," in María Magdalena: éstasis y arrepentimiento, exhibition catalogue, Mexico City 2001, p. 43, reproduced in color, pp. 114-15, 195. 

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. The restoration to this work is still attractive and presentable. The canvas has an old lining, but the cleaning of the work may be more recent. There are some fine details in this work around the foliage and feet in the lower right, all of which seem to be nicely preserved. The artist is technically quite soft, and his glazes seem to be mostly fully intact. There may be restorations in her right hand on the book and in a few cracks in the lower part of her dress beneath the book. There are a few restorations around the edges of the canvas. There are a few other retouches in very isolated spots in the background. The work is slightly dirty and will respond to cleaning. There has been a small test made above the feet, and the slightly cleaner area here is an indication of the dirt layer on the work.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

This rare biblical composition is one of a number of extant repetitions which follow Nattier's prime version located in the Musée du Louvre. Nattier, who focused almost exclusively on elegant and highly fantastical portraits of courtly figures in luxurious fabrics set in allegorical or mythological settings, executed only three specifically biblical pictures in his entire career.¹ Though the setting and pose of the figure call to mind more traditional depictions of the penitent Magdalene, her flowing white dress and white satin shoes are antithetical to the more homely depictions--and intended teachings-- of Magdalene paintings. Rather, Nattier appears to have combined the traditional penitent wilderness setting and reclining pose with contemporary fashion. Such syntheses of contemporary figures and antique or historicizing subjects were Nattier's specialty, and became a type for which he would ultimately gain his fame in the court of Louis XV.

The identity of the sitter in the present portrait is unknown, though the nineteenth century scholar Fernand Engerand hypothesized that it may portray, rather ironically given the penitent subject matter, Louis XV's first official mistress, Louise Julie de Mailly-Nesle, Comtesse de Mailly (1710-1751).² She was the first of three sisters who would engage in similar relationships with the King. Hers, which began as early as 1733 and would last until November 1742, when she was exited in disgrace from the Court, only to be replaced by her younger sister, the Marquise de la Tournelle (1717-1744), later Duchesse de Châtearoux. 

1. J. Baillio, in G. Pessach (ed.), Landscape of the Bible : sacred scenes in European master paintings, exhibition catalogue, Jerusalem 2000-1. 
2. F. Engerand, "Nattier, peintre des favorites de Louis XV," in Revue de l'Art Ancien et Moderne, November 1897, p. 332.