The Divine Elegance of Madame Le Fèvre de Caumartin as Hebe: Jean-Marc Nattier, 175

Shown from the knees up, a woman sitting next to an eagle has pale skin and rosy cheeks, and she faces and looks at us in this vertical portrait painting. The woman takes up most of the height of the composition and her right arm, on our left, rests on what looks like a puffy, sand-colored cloud. Her long, light blond hair is pulled back but one long tendril rests over her right shoulder, on our left. White and pale pink roses are tucked into a string of white pearls pinned into her hair across top of her head. The woman gazes at us with hazel eyes under light gray brows, and her long nose and closed, pale pink lips are set in a heart-shaped face. The low neckline of her ivory-white chemise wraps across her shoulders, and a small bouquet with a peach-colored rose and delicate white flowers is tucked into a bow at the front. The chemise has voluminous, elbow-length sleeves and is belted with a single strand of white pearls. Robin's egg-blue fabric is fastened with a gold pin on her right arm, to our left, and it falls in folds across her lap. Light reflecting off the fabric creates a sheen, suggesting it is silk or satin. Her right arm is bent to hold a pitcher over a small bowl in her other hand. The pitcher and bowl are both iridescent silver edged with gold. The body of the pitcher is decorated with people wearing robes, perhaps dancing. The eagle nestles near her left elbow, to our right. We see the upper half of its brown body and curved wing. Its narrow head and parted, hooked beak face our left in profile. The sky behind the woman transitions from a warm, golden yellow behind her to celestial blue along the top edge of the painting. Wispy bands of clouds rise to meet a larger smoke-gray cloud at the top that spreads out to frame her head. The painting is created with blended strokes, giving it a soft appearance, especially in the woman’s face and hands. The artist signed and dated the painting in the lower left corner, “Nattier pinxit. 1753.”

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