Attributed To Charles-joseph Natoire (1700 – 1777) - Academy of a Seated Male

Attributed to Charles-Joseph NATOIRE (Nîmes 1700 – 1777 Gandolfo)
Academy Study of a Seated Male Figure Seen from the Back

(Youthful study executed around the 1720s–1730s, likely during his training at the Royal Academy)

Red chalk, stump and white chalk highlights on beige paper,
40 × 35 cm

Inscribed "Natoire" lower right, numbered "118" upper right
(Creases and tear at the top center)

Provenance:
Anonymous sale, Paris, Hôtel Drouot, Maître Mathias, March 23, 1981, no. 4
Private collection, France

Charles-Joseph Natoire, born in Nîmes in 1700, was one of the most brilliant representatives of 18th-century French painting. Trained at the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture, he quickly earned the recognition of his peers for his talent in grand decorative schemes and his admirable religious and mythological compositions. In 1751, his reputation earned him the prestigious appointment as director of the French Academy in Rome, where he trained numerous artists.

This sheet, technically typical of French academic practice (red chalk, stump, and white chalk highlights on tinted paper), depicts the model from the back, in a pose both dynamic and balanced. The finesse of the line and the subtle rendering of the musculature reflect a strong command of light and shadow, while the quality of execution reveals intense training in drawing from life—a central practice at the Royal Academy.

The proposed dating (1720s–1730s) is based on the hypothesis that this is an early work, executed during or shortly after Natoire’s academic training. The handwritten inscription “Natoire” supports the idea that this drawing may predate the artist’s stylistic maturity, where a certain spontaneity and anatomical exploration are still perceptible.

The number “118” may also refer to a collection inventory.

This drawing stands at the crossroads of academic rigor and the elegance characteristic of 18th-century French painting. It illustrates not only Natoire’s technical virtuosity, but also the essential role that life drawing played in the training of the great masters of the time.