Jb Suvee 1743-1807 And Workshop "vestal Tuccia"

Joseph Benoit SUVEE 1743-1807 and his workshop "The Vestal TUCCIA" oil on canvas frame molded and carved lacquered and gilded period, back on the chassis several labels and numbers indicating the provenance "collection prince Poniatowski" Around 1785, the Flemish painter Jean-Baptiste Suvée paints a Vestal, historical subject that pleased since the early eighteenth century (Jean Raoux, Mademoiselle de Pressy en Vestale, 1725, oil on canvas, 74 x 92 cm, not located), and particularly in this twilit period of the Old Regime (David paints a Vestal almost simultaneously: Jacques-Louis David, The Vestal, 1783-1787, oil on canvas, 81.3 × 65.4 cm, United States of America, private collection not located). This is a scene representing Tuccia, who, to prove her purity, had to fetch water from the Tiber and bring it into the temple of Vesta. In a more neo-classical style compared to David (whose Vestal is considered "Greuzian"), Suvée caused a sensation at the Salon of 1785. This theme is also recurrent in the artist because it knows another Vestal Émilie rekindling the sacred fire (1781, oil on canvas, 323 x 422 cm, Paris, Louvre Museum, inv 8073), painted four years ago. From this oil on canvas, there are several versions. Our is a very good quality without doubt the workshop and a provenance of prince!