The four elements: portraits of Louis XVs daugthers by Jean-Marc Nattier

• Grant number: 17/14530-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: November 01, 2017
• End date: October 31, 2022
• Field of knowledge: Linguistics, Literature and Arts - Arts - Art Fundamentals and Criticism
• Principal Investigator: Jorge Sidney Coli Junior
• Grantee: Felipe da Silva Corrêa
• Host Institution: Instituto de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas (IFCH). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 19/00109-9 - The four elements: iconography of the daughters of Louis XV and Jean-marc Nattier's portraiture, BE.EP.DR

Abstract

This project aims to study a group of four portraits made by French painter Jean-marc Nattier between 1750 and 1751 that belongs to MASP's collection. The paintings depict Louis XV's oldest four daughters Élisabeth, Henriette, Adélaïde and Victoire as the four elements, respectively the earth, the fire, the air and the water. Initially made to decorate the dauphin's cabinet in Versailles, they disappeared right after the French Revolution and would only reappear in the 1950s, when they were bought by the National Congress and donated to MASP. In spite of his importance during his life, Nattier has been greatly neglected by historians until our days. And MASP's four paintings, despite being important for the Brazilian heritage as well as for the artist's career, still wait for a specific study. This project's goals is to meet those needs with a study of the paintings based on primary and secondary fonts that considers its general and specific context. (AU)