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Study of a Female Nude

1840
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 806

In a letter to his mistress, Lehmann described the woman depicted here as one of the "four most beautiful girls that you could have as a model in Rome." The sensual curve of the figure’s back is in line with odalisques by Lehmann’s revered master, J. A. D. Ingres. This ravishing study was made in preparation for a painting of bathers at a river; inspired by Victor Hugo’s poem "Bièvre," it was exhibited at the Salon of 1842 as Femmes près de l’eau. Acquired by the Belgian royal family, the Salon painting was destroyed in a fire in the 1890s.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Study of a Female Nude
  • Artist: Henri Lehmann (French, Kiel 1814–1882 Paris)
  • Date: 1840
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 14 x 8 3/4 in. (35.5 x 22.3 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: The Whitney Collection, Gift of Wheelock Whitney III, and Purchase, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Charles S. McVeigh, by exchange, 2003

  • Object Number: 2003.42.38
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

More Artwork

More Artwork
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Study of a Nude Man, Gustave Courbet French, Oil on canvas
Study of a Nude Man
Gustave Courbet
early 1840s
Studies of a Draped Female Figure, Kneeling, Seen from the Back, for the East Transept of the Chruch of Sainte-Clothilde, Paris, Henri Lehmann French, Charcoal (rubbed) and graphite on off-white laid paper
Studies of a Draped Female Figure, Kneeling, Seen from the Back, for the East Transept of the Chruch of Sainte-Clothilde, Paris
Henri Lehmann
1858
Kneeling Nude Male Figure, Facing Left, Henri Lehmann French, Graphite
Kneeling Nude Male Figure, Facing Left
Henri Lehmann
March 25, 1859
Standing Draped Female Figure, Henri Lehmann French, Graphite and estompe
Standing Draped Female Figure
Henri Lehmann
19th century
Study for the figure of Sarah in the now-lost painting, "Tobias Brings His Bride Sarah to the House of His Father, Tobit", Henri Lehmann French, Graphite and white chalk, on blue paper
Study for the figure of Sarah in the now-lost painting, "Tobias Brings His Bride Sarah to the House of His Father, Tobit"
Henri Lehmann
1863

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