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
- Jean-Baptiste Greuze
- 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
Provenance
Additional information
Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Humphrey Wine, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The Eighteenth Century French Paintings’, London 2018; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.
Exhibition history
-
2023Masterpieces from the National GalleryShanghai Art Museum East17 January 2023 - 7 May 2023National Museum of Korea2 June 2023 - 9 October 2023Hong Kong Palace Museum22 November 2023 - 11 April 2024Chimei Museum2 May 2024 - 1 September 2024
Bibliography
-
1946Martin Davies, National Gallery Catalogues: French School, London 1946
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1955The National Gallery, The National Gallery: 1938 - 1954, London 1955
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1957Martin Davies, National Gallery Catalogues: French School, 2nd edn (revised), London 1957
-
2001
C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
-
2018Wine, Humphrey, National Gallery Catalogues: The Eighteenth Century French Paintings, London 2018
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.