As a pupil of Noël Hallé (1711-1781), Jean-Simon Berthélémy inherited from his master this delicate palette, and loose brushstroke, which is clearly visible in the present painting, Apollo and Aurora. The pale-blue color of the sky is highlighted with a touch of pink, complementing the heavenly images of putti and Aurora. This delicate and harmonious ensemble, vividly painted, echoes some of the sketches that Fragonard painted for small salons or boudoirs in the same period. This parallel clearly demonstrates the high influence of the master on this generation of French 18th century painters to which Berthélémy belonged.
Apollo and Aurora was most likely painted in the 1770’s, based on comparision with the compositions he painted for the Hôtel Vaudreuil in Paris, Aurora surrounded by Putti and The Sunrise. Berthélémy was commissioned by the comte de Vaudreuil to decorate the over-doors of the fashionable hôtel, and it is possible that the present work was created as a part of this commission. The building fell into disrepair and both the house and its contents were destroyed in 1968, sadly a common fate for many Parisian townhouses in the 19th and 20th century.
It was also suggested that this painting may have been a study for a lost over-door executed in 1766 for the Marquis de Marigny, brother of La Pompadour, and also an♓ important ♛patron of the Arts during the reign of Louis XV.