The latter years of the reign of Louis XIV
Le Brun disappeared in 1690 and Mignard, his successor as Premier Peintre,
died soon after in 1695. The way was now open to artists like La Fosse,
Jouvenet, Antoine Coypel or Louis et Bon Boullogne who were reaching full
maturity. At this time, painting was still faithful to the former ceremonial
style, i.e. dedicated to serving an absolute monarchy, but the taste for
colour announced the arrival of a new period. The latter years of the long
rule of the Sun King was marked
by military defeats and economic difficulties that had an impact on the
Académie.
French artists, especially portraitists, began to travel far and wide in Europe. This marked the beginning of the what the art historian Louis Réau named the expansion of French art. It was at this time that Santerre painted Suzanne au bain. This work is unique in the history of French painting. The ethereal coldness of the female nude explains the unquestioned success of the painting and announces the arrival of neo-classicism.
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