The abbé, the duke, his mistress and the old Adam...
At first glance, this 7ft 6in x 5ft 7in (2.28 x 1.70m) canvas, right, of the Temptation of Adam by the French artist Jean-Baptiste Santerre (1651-1717) might seem to be a fairly standard, if unusually large, depiction of one of the most hackneyed religious themes in Western art.
In fact, this isn't a religious painting at all, but rather a portrait of the French Prince Regent, …