SANTERRE, Jean-Baptiste

(b. 1651 Magny-en-Vexin, d. 1717 Paris)

French portrait painter. The 12th child of a merchant, he was apprenticed to the portrait painter Jean Lemaire (c. 1597-1659) before entering the busy studio of the history painter Bon Boullogne Although he executed some history paintings, he began to specialize in portraiture early in his career. The Portrait of Two Actresses (1699; St Petersburg, Hermitage), clearly influenced by François de Troy, shows Santerre’s interest in the well-known portrait painters of his time. Nevertheless, he was among the first painters in France to absorb the influence of Rembrandt, as in Young Girl at a Window (Orléans, Musée des Beaux-Arts. In such portraits as Girl with a Veil (1699; St Petersburg, Hermitage) he made an original contribution to French painting by successfully combining the fantasy portrait of northern tradition with the allegorical portrait currently fashionable in France. Furthermore, he was known for his Rococo use of nude figures.

He founded a drawing academy for women at Versailles. Among his works are Susanna at the Bath (Louvre) and Adelaide d’Orléans (Versailles).

Portrait of a Young Lady with a Letter

This portrait is thought to depict Mademoiselle Christine-Antoinette-Charlotte Desmares (1682-1753), niece and student of the celebrated Parisian actress, Mademoiselle de Champmesl� (1642-1698). WShemade her stage debut at Com�die Fran�aise, Paris at the age of six and enjoyed instant success. A number of versions of the portrait are known, and it was engraved in 1708 by Nicolas Chasteau (circa 1680-1750).

Send Postcard Learn More

Portrait of an Artist

The painting shows a portrait of an unidentified artist holding a palette and brush before an easel.

Send Postcard Learn More

Susanna at the Bath

Santerre was mainly a religious painter but his paintings lacked true inspiration. However, his Susanna at the Bath reveals an almost disturbing eroticism and something of that peculiarly chilly Rococo quality which is to be found in Falconet’s nude statuettes. Few comparable pictures were to be produced at Venice, whereas Santerre initiates a whole troop of ‘baigneuses’ who go on dabbling with the erotic possibilities of water as late as Fragonard, all seeming ultimately to derive from Correggio’s Leda. And out of this revolution was to come the achievement of Boucher as well as Fragonard.

Send Postcard Learn More

Two Actresses

Send Postcard Learn More

Woman with Veil

This painting belongs to the ‘fantasy portraits’, a genre cultivated by Santerre at the beginning of his career.

Send Postcard Learn More