La Source
Artist: Charles-Joseph Natoire (French, 1700–1777)
Date: 1736
Medium: Oil on canvas
Collection: Private Collection
Description
‘La Source’ depicts a languorous but smiling water nymph who pours water from a clay urn into a huge seashell that rests on an embankment. Below the shell, two putti play on the back of a dolphin; another putto mischievously pulls away the nymph’s filmy drapery to reveal her nudity. Behind her, a muscular triton sounds his conch shell as a second, blonde nymph looks on. Looming reeds enclose a watery and verdant landscape setting. The painting is signed ‘C. NATOIRE’ and dated ‘1736’.














