One of the most brilliant and innovative draftsmen of the eighteenth century, Watteau was an early exponent of the "trois-crayons" or "three-chalk" technique, which allowed his drawings to approach the rich coloristic effects of painting. This fetching study of a seated woman is a consummate example of his mastery of the technique. The Lehman sheet is not known to be a preparatory study for a painting, but the model does reappear in at least one other drawing by the artist.
