JEAN-ETIENNE LIOTARD (1702-1789)

The present mezzotint, the largest of all 15 prints by Liotard, seems rather loosely inspired by the so-called Dresden Venus, which today is thought to have been painted in large parts by Giorgione, but completed by Titian. Although the overall composition is similar, the position of the body, in particular of her arms and legs, is quite different. Liotard also used the mezzotint technique to transform this subject into a twilight scene, while the painting is quite brightly lit, with only a hint of pink in the sky to suggest sunset.
Roethlisberger and Loche record a unique impression of the first state, before all letters, at the Bibliothèque National in Paris; a unique impression of the second state with an abbreviated inscription in Dresden; and three impressions of the present third, completed state (two in Geneva; one at the Bibliothèque National, Paris). To our knowledge, only two impressions have been offered at auction within the last thirty years. The present impression is a duplicate from the Cabinet des Estampes in Geneva (today Cabinet des Arts Graphiques), which has the world's largest and finest holdings of works by Liotard.