Head of a Young Woman
Swirling clothing and hair join soulfully upturned eyes and a tilted head in order to condense an emotion—perhaps sorrowful longing—typical of têtes d’expression. Such "expressive heads" were part of artists’ academic training, but also enjoyed appeal as independent works of art. This particular pose captures the late eighteenth-century rise of sentimentalism, a largely literary movement that pulled on readers’ emotions, which Greuze used to great visual effect.
Artwork Details
- Title: Head of a Young Woman
- Artist: Jean-Baptiste Greuze (French, Tournus 1725–1805 Paris)
- Date: possibly 1780s
- Medium: Oil on canvas
- Dimensions: 16 1/8 x 12 3/4 in. (41 x 32.4 cm)
- Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Bequest of Miss Adelaide Milton de Groot (1876-1967), 1967
- Object Number: 67.187.72
- Curatorial Department: European Paintings
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Jean-Baptiste Greuze
ca. 1760–80
Jean-Baptiste Greuze
n.d.
Jean-Baptiste Greuze
Jacques Firmin Beauvarlet
18th century
Jean-Baptiste Greuze
Jacques Firmin Beauvarlet
n.d.
Jean-Baptiste Greuze
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n.d.
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