Description
There are a number of variants of the story of Leda, but in one of them, Zeus falls in love with her and visits her in the form of a swan, a scene depicted by many artists from the Renaissance on. She is said to have given birth to two sets of twins, one of each pair being mortal and one immortal: daughters Helen of Troy and Clytemnestra, and sons Castor and Pollux, all of whom also have other stories associated with them. In another variant, she is wife of the King of Sparta, who fathers Clytemnestra and Castor, while Zeus fathers Helen and Pollux.
Jean Baptiste Marie Pierre was a major French painter, tapestry designer, pastel artist, aquatint engraver and etcher of his era. He was known for his history, religious, and genre subjects as well as portraits, landscapes, and marine subjects. Born in Paris, where he spent most of his career, he was a pupil of Natoire at the Académie Royale, and received first prize in painting there in 1734. He spent five years in Rome beginning in 1735, then returned to Paris where he was received as a member of the Académie in 1742. He served in many positions there, exhibiting regularly from 1741 and teaching there from 1744, eventually rising to the position of director in 1770. That year he also succeeded François Boucher as “premier painter of the king.” Also among his earlier patrons was Madame de Pompadour. Pierre also produced cartoons (preparatory designs) for tapestries produced by the Gobelins manufactory. He died a celebrated and influential artist. Today his paintings, drawings and prints are in the collections of the world’s great museums, such as the Louvre, the Hermitage, and the British Museum. He is the subject of a 2009 monograph by Nicolas Lesur and Olivier Aaron.
Nicolas Delaunay was a French engraver and publisher, working in Paris. He was a pupil of Louis-Simon Lempereur and began exhibiting at the Académie Royale in 1777 and was received as an academician in 1789.
Louis-Simon Lempereur was a French engraver and publisher, working in Paris, known for his genre subjects after Van Loo, Lagrenée, and his friend Watelet, among others. He was a pupil of Aveline and a friend of Watelet. He exhibited at the Académie Royale from 1761 to 1789 and was received as an academician of there in 1776.
Full publication information, lower margin: J.B.M. Pierre pinx./ N. Delaunay sculp. Leda. Dédiée à Monsieur Pierre./ Chevalier de l’Ordre du Roy, Professeur de l’Academie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture, et premier Peintre de Monseigneur le Duc d’Orleans./ A Paris, chez Lempereur, Graveur du Roy, rue et Porte St. Jacques, au dessus du petit Marché. Tiré de Cabinet de Mr. Watelet. Par son très humble et très obeissant Serviteur et Ami Lempereur.
References:
Bénézit, E. Dictionnaire critique et documentaire des Peintres, Sculpteurs, Dessinateurs et Graveurs. France: Librairie Gründ, 1966. Vol. 3, p. 147; Vol. 5, p. 508; Vol. 6, p. 673.
“Leda.” British Museum. https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1924-0112-358 (23 November 2021).
Lesur, Nicolas and Olivier Aaron. Jean-Baptiste Marie Pierre, 1714-1789, Premier peintre du Roi. Paris: Arthena, 2009.
Pinsent, John. Greek Mythology. London: Paul Hamlyn, 1973 (2nd ed.). pp. 112-113.
