Flora Caressed by Zephyr

Flora Caressed by Zephyr (French: Flore caressée par Zéphyr), also titled Dawn (L'Aurore), is an 1802 oil painting by the French painter François Gérard which depicts the love of Flora (Spring) and Zephyr (the West Wind) from Graeco-Roman mythology.

The picture was produced in 1802 as part of a series of works commissioned for the private mansion of Charles Gaudin, the French Minister of Finance. It is now in the collections of the Museum of Grenoble.

Description
The picture depicts a young woman as Flora, the ancient Roman goddess of Spring. She is naked and seems to be standing on the terrestrial globe. All around her swirls a light mist, representing Zephyrus, her lover, god of the West Wind. From their caresses a multitude of flowers are created, which rain down over the globe. The young woman crosses her arms on her bosom and keeps her eyes closed. Focused on herself, she seems in ecstasy.

The painting is mythologically inspired. The painter refers to the loves of Chloris (Flora) and Zephyr, recounted by Ovid in the Fasti. The "precisely painted blooms" were informed by Pierre-Joseph Redouté's botanical illustrations.

Provenance
Gérard had his first success with Cupid and Psyche (1798), but only achieved real fame after about 1800, when Napoleon and his circle made him their favourite painter. Flore Caressed by Zephyr (1802) was one of a series of works commissioned for the private mansion of the French Minister of Finance Charles Gaudin, and was probably matched by a representation of Danaë by Girodet, now in the Museum der bildenden Künste in Leipzig.