Profile portrait of a woman

1781

Not on view

Bernard was born in Luneville, in the duchy of Lorraine, in what is today eastern France. He became writing master to King Stanislas, the exiled king of Poland, who had established a court in Luneville. After Stanislas’s death in 1766, Bernard moved to Paris where he developed a style of portraiture that set the profiles of sitters in elaborate frames that merged calligraphic flourishes with naturalistic observation. In this portrait of an unidentified woman, the sitter is nearly eclipsed by the multiple ornamental frames.

Artwork Details

Overview

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Provenance

Title: Profile portrait of a woman
Artist: Joseph Jean Bernard (French, 1740–1809)
Date: 1781
Medium: Pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash, touches of blue wash, over black chalk
Dimensions: Height: 20 1/2 in. (52 cm)
Width: 14 3/4 in. (37.4 cm)
Classification: Drawings
Credit Line: Bequest of Mrs. Charles Wrightsman, 2019
Object Number: 2019.282.17
Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

By Joseph Jean Bernard

In the same medium

From the same time and place

A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.

Portrait of Madame Dugazon as Nina, Joseph Jean Bernard French, Pen, black and brown ink; brown, gray, green and red washes — Portrait of Madame Dugazon as Nina
Joseph Jean Bernard
1788

Queen Esther Approaching the Palace of Ahasuerus, Claude Lorrain (Claude Gellée) French, Pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash, heightened with white, over black chalk — Queen Esther Approaching the Palace of Ahasuerus
Claude Lorrain (Claude Gellée)
1658

The Lictors Bringing Brutus the Bodies of his Sons, Jacques Louis David French, Black chalk, pen and black and brown ink, brush and gray and brown wash, heightened with white gouache — The Lictors Bringing Brutus the Bodies of his Sons
Jacques Louis David
1787

Germain-Augustin and Rose de Saint-Aubin, Drawn by Their Uncle, Gabriel de Saint-Aubin French, Gray wash over black chalk and graphite. — Germain-Augustin and Rose de Saint-Aubin, Drawn by Their Uncle
Gabriel de Saint-Aubin
1766

Portrait of Charlotte Duchesne, Philippe de Champaigne French, Black chalk, heightened with white, with touches of red chalk — Portrait of Charlotte Duchesne
Philippe de Champaigne
ca. 1628

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.