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Portrait of Étienne Maurice Falconet (1716–1791)

1741
Not on view
A testament to friendship and artistic lineage, this portrait of Etienne Maurice Falconet, who would go on to become one of the great French sculptors of the rococo period, was made by his teacher, Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, another of the century’s great sculptors. From a Latin inscription in Falconet’s hand, we know that it was drawn in 1741, when Falconet was 26 and had spent almost a decade in the older artist’s studio.
Admired for his lively and virtuoso renderings of character in terracotta and marble, Lemoyne made few drawings, yet in the this sheet we find these same qualities manifested. On a pieced-together paper support, black, red, and white chalks are put down with great speed and a firm hand. Stumping--a smudging of the black chalk—is used to lay in areas of tone and shadow, and highlights are added in quick touches of white chalk.
Falconet was, by all accounts, a mischievous man with a sharp sense of humor. Lemoyne conveys this with the sidelong glance and hint of amusement. As in his best sculptures, Lemoyne has captured a fleeting expression, leaving us with the sense we are gazing upon a living, breathing person, whose personality plays across their features.
Perrin Stein, 2012.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Portrait of Étienne Maurice Falconet (1716–1791)
  • Artist: Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne the Younger (French, Paris 1704–1778 Paris)
  • Sitter: Etienne-Maurice Falconet (French, Paris 1716–1791 Paris)
  • Date: 1741
  • Medium: Black, red, and white chalk, with stumping
  • Dimensions: Sheet: 16 3/4 x 13 1/2 in. (42.6 x 34.3 cm)
  • Classification: Drawings
  • Credit Line: Purchase, The Morris and Alma Schapiro Fund Gift, 2012
  • Object Number: 2012.415
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

More Artwork
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Unidentified woman, Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne the Younger French, White plaster tinted to imitate terracotta; base: imitation marble, French
Unidentified woman
Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne the Younger
18th century
Félicité Sophie de Lannion, Duchesse de La Rochefoucauld, at the Age of 29 Years (1745–1830), Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne the Younger French, White marble, French
Félicité Sophie de Lannion, Duchesse de La Rochefoucauld, at the Age of 29 Years (1745–1830)
Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne the Younger
1774
Bust of a Man, Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne the Younger French, Bust: pale gray terracotta, covered with a buff colored wash; socle: breccia violetta marble, French, Paris
Bust of a Man
Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne the Younger
ca. 1745–50
Geneviève-Françoise Randon de Malboissière (1740–1766), Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne the Younger French, Bust: white marble; plinth: brèche violette marble, French
Geneviève-Françoise Randon de Malboissière (1740–1766)
Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne the Younger
1768
Louis XV, Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne the Younger French, Bronze, French
Louis XV
Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne the Younger
probably 19th century

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