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Jean-Baptiste Greuze, 'Portrait of a Lady (Madame de Gléon?)', about 1760

About the work

Overview

A young woman wearing a blue silk cape is shown half-length looking out of a stone window. Her fashionably powdered hairstyle was known as the ‘tête de mouton’ (’sheep’s head') and was popular in France in the 1750s. She rests her left arm on a piece of light beige cloth draped over the stone ledge to protect her from its chill. The intricate details and folds of her elaborate cutwork lace cuffs are particularly beautifully observed.

The unusual pose of the woman at a stone window may have been influenced by Rembrandt’s Girl at a Window (Dulwich Picture Gallery, London), which was in Paris during the eighteenth century until the late 1770s.

The lady may be Geneviève-Charlotte-Agnès Savalette, who became marquise de Gléon on her marriage in 1748. She was a writer and actress in amateur theatricals.

Key facts

Details

Full title
Portrait of a Lady (Madame de Gléon?)
Artist dates
1725 - 1805
Date made
about 1760
Medium and support
oil on canvas
Dimensions
64.1 × 54.6 cm
Acquisition credit
Presented by Emilie Yznaga, 1945
Inventory number
NG5584
Location
Not on display
Collection
Main Collection
Previous owners

About this record

If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.

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