Portrait of a seated older fair-skinned seated lady, turned three-quarter from the right to face us.
Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
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Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College

The woman has a slight smile on her closed lips, and subtle highlights in her eyes and lower lip that bring life to the drawing. She looks just beyond us toward left of center. She wears a grey dress, vertical tight ruffle along the neck and boddice, with soft blue ribbons down the center. The lacey elbow length sleeves are accented with matching small bows. Her hair is wavey and grey and tucked up with a ribbon around her neck, a small blue bow tied above her forehead. The background is neutral, she’s seated in a brocade upholstered chair.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
1961.167
People
Maurice-Quentin de La Tour, French (Saint-Quentin 1704 - 1788 Saint-Quentin)
Title
Portrait of a Woman
Classification
Drawings
Work Type
drawing
Date
1750s
Culture
French
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/297231

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Pastel on paper
Dimensions
64.5 x 54 cm (25 3/8 x 21 1/4 in.)
frame: 89.8 × 78.8 cm (35 3/8 × 31 in.)

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Gift of Charles E. Dunlap
Accession Year
1961
Object Number
1961.167
Division
European and American Art
Contact
am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Publication History

  • Alvin L. Clark, Jr., "To Delight the Eye": French Drawings and Paintings from the Collection of Charles E. Dunlap, exh. cat., Harvard University Art Museums (Cambridge, 2005), no. 17, fig. 9 (color), p. 8
  • Neil Jeffares, Dictionary of Pastellists before 1800, Unicorn Press (London, 2006), p. 311, repr.
  • Alvin L. Clark, Jr. and Edouard Kopp, French Drawings from the Age of Claude, Poussin, Watteau, and Fragonard: Highlights from the Collection of the Harvard Art Museums, Harvard Art Museums (Cambridge, MA, 2022), p. 16, fig. 5

Exhibition History

  • "To Delight the Eye": French Drawings and Paintings from the Collection of Charles E. Dunlap, Harvard University Art Museums, Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, 12/17/2005 - 03/12/2006
  • 32Q: 2220 18th-19th Century, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 05/09/2018 - 11/14/2018

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of European and American Art at am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu