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No love without sorrow, No rose without a thorn, antique engraving after Nattier by Lépicé, 18th century
€125Bid from €112.50
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ProfessionalProduct description
There are objects chosen to decorate a house. And then there are those chosen because they tell a story. This one speaks of love. Not a perfectly wise and uneventful love, but the kind the 18th century knew so beautifully how to depict: desire, attachment, promises, wounds, and roses picked despite their thorns. At the center of this antique print appears Venus accompanied by Cupid, in a composition conceived by Jean-Marc Nattier. Venus, luminous, holds back the child Cupid while delicately raising a flowering branch. Around them, the landscape fades into the clouds. At their feet appear the bow, the quiver, and birds. Below the image, like a confidence left by another century, appears this wonderful motto: "No love without pain, No rose without a thorn." Jean-Marc Nattier ( ) is one of the great names in 18th-century French painting. A master of the allegorical portrait, he depicted the great ladies of his era as Diana, Hebe, Flora, or other mythological heroines. His success led him to the court of Louis XV. The composition was engraved by François-Bernard Lépicé ( ), a French engraver who interpreted Nattier's work with a burin. The Parisian address of Basan, a major name in the print trade, also appears below the composition. One must get close to the print to discover all its delicacy. The flesh tones are created by a multitude of extremely fine cuts. The shadows are built by intersecting lines, fabrics gain volume, and clouds become almost ethereal. The impression has a very beautiful sanguine-brown tone, infinitely softer than traditional black. The paper now possesses that warm tone that only the passage of time truly knows how to create. Some old marks and irregularities are visible in the photographs and naturally belong to the history of the sheet. The entire piece is preserved under glass in its sober, antique brown wooden frame. Dimensions of the framed piece: approximately 38 × 30 cm. France, 18th century.
Additional details:
- Brand: Jean-Marc Nattier
- Designer: Jean-Marc Nattier
- Designer: François-Bernard Lépicé
- Colour: Brun-sanguine
- Colour: Brun
- Period: XVIIIe siècle
Specifications
ConditionGoodMaterialPaper, Wood, Glass
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Seller information
About this seller
ProfessionalSaint symphorien des bois, FranceOn Whoppah since August 2026 • 1 sale