CHARLES-JOSEPH NATOIRE (NÎMES 1700-1777 CASTEL GANDOLFO)

Suzanna Caviglia-Brunel relates the present study to another study of an angel playing a harp (op. cit., no. D431, ill.) preparatory for the altarpiece painted by Natoire for the Chapel of the Enfants-Trouvés in Paris (see S. Caviglia-Brunel, ibid., no.195, ill.). The chapel was built in 1746-1750 based on designs by Germain Boffrand, but destroyed in the 19th century. The main altar depicted The Adoration of the Magi. Natoire’s scenes were set into trompe-l'œil decoration painted by Paolo Antonio and Gaetano Brunetti, giving the illusion that the viewer was standing in a ruined building.