NAVEZ, François-Joseph
(b. 1787, Charleroi, d. 1869, Bruxelles)

The Nymph Salmacis and Hermaphroditus

1829
Oil on canvas, 197 x 147 cm
Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Ghent

This painting represents an unusual mythological scene. Navez, who studied under David in Paris and Brussels, made his name primarily as a portraitist and a painter of religious and historical compositions, refers in this work to the sensuality of the French Rococo, which he combines with a classical form. This hybrid character is typical of many 19th-century salon pieces.