Jean-Marc Nattier (1685-1766)

Born into a family of artists: his father Mark was a portrait painter, his mother Marie wrote Kurtyua miniatures, and his brother Jean-Baptiste busy creating paintings for historical reasons.

 The first lessons in painting by Jean-Marc Nattier received from his father, and then attended drawing courses at the Royal Academy. At the age of fifteen Nattier was awarded the first prize of the Paris Academy of Art. Jean-Marc Nattier wrote reproductions of paintings by Rubens for the Luxembourg art gallery.

 In 1717 Nattier went on a journey to Holland, met in Amsterdam with Peter I and painted portraits of the king and the Russian Empress Catherine. Peter suggested Nattier leave France and go with him to Russia, but, referring to his love for his country, the artist declined the offer. Jean-Marc Nattier spent almost all his life in Paris. By order of Peter the artist had painted "The Battle of the Forest" and "The Battle of Poltava", will display two significant events of the Northern War. The emperor himself had not seen these paintings, the paintings were brought to Russia after his death.

 Jean-Marc Nattier is the creator of a new style of painting - the historical portrait (Fr. portrait historié). Paintings Nattier idolize and idealize the image of women, which the artist depicted on the canvas in his conviction of apparel mythical characters.

 Paintings by Jean-Marc Nattier stored in the Louvre, Versailles, the Hermitage and the Pushkin Museum in Moscow, Dresden Art Gallery and several other art museums in the world. Many of the paintings of the artist are in private collections.