School of Fontainebleau, second half of the 16th century.

School of Fontainebleau, second half of the 16th century.
"The nymph and the satyr".
Oil on walnut panel (one piece).
Nineteenth-century gilt frame on nineteenth-century carved wood.
Measurements: 61 x 84 cm; 101 x 127 cm (frame).

This painting is part of the late French Mannerism, at a time of transition to the so-called Second School of Fontainebleau, developed under the reign of Henry IV. This period is characterized by a greater freedom in the treatment of color and atmosphere, as seen in the work of artists such as Toussaint Dubreuil or Ambroise Dubois.

The scene, of marked sensuality, presents a mythological episode where a satyr bursts into the repose of a reclining nymph, accompanied by a lover. The elongated anatomies, the soft flesh tones and the elegant play of drapery fully respond to Fontainebleau's aesthetic ideal, where myth serves as a pretext to explore desire, idealized beauty and narrative ambiguity.

The contrast between the feminine serenity and the brutal energy of the satyr intensifies the narrative tension, while the dark background and classical architecture reinforce the courtly character of the work.

Executed in oil on a single walnut panel, the work retains the technical and chromatic refinement typical of courtly art intended for a cultivated elite. As a whole, the painting reflects the fullness of French Mannerism and the stylistic evolution of Fontainebleau towards more fluid, sensual and expressive compositions, which marked the artistic taste of France at the end of the Renaissance.