Biography

French painter, part of a family of painters. He was the brother of Jean-Marc Nattier, and taught first by his father, Marc Nattier (1642-1705), then from 1704 to 1709 he was a student at the Académie de France in Rome. In 1712 he became a member of the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture on presentation of Joseph and Potiphar's Wife (St Petersburg, Hermitage). He is principally known for his history paintings, such as David with the Head of Goliath (Moscow, Pushkin Museum). His career came to an abrupt end when a scandal in his private life resulted in his expulsion from the Académie Royale and his imprisonment in the Bastille, where he took his own life.