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Lot Essay
Pierre was a pupil of Charles-Joseph Natoire and Jean-François de Troy. He won the Prix de Rome, in 1734, which then enabled him to study in Rome for the next five years. He was made a professor at the Académie Royale de Peinture in 1748 and in 1752 was appointed 'Premier peintre du Duc d'Orleans' and later 'Surinspecteur des Gobelins' in 1752.
The present paintings were executed shortly after Pierre's return from Rome when his work showed a marked influence of the so-called Dutch Bamboccianti who were then active in that city, and display 'the fluid spirited style of Pierre's early work which later disappeared around 1750, when he began to use a more linear, restrained technique' (C. Bailey, in the catalogue of the exhibition, The Loves of the Gods, Paris and Fort Worth, Feb. 23-Aug. 2, 1992, p. 437).
The present paintings were executed shortly after Pierre's return from Rome when his work showed a marked influence of the so-called Dutch Bamboccianti who were then active in that city, and display 'the fluid spirited style of Pierre's early work which later disappeared around 1750, when he began to use a more linear, restrained technique' (C. Bailey, in the catalogue of the exhibition, The Loves of the Gods, Paris and Fort Worth, Feb. 23-Aug. 2, 1992, p. 437).