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Portrait of an Artist

A work made of oil on canvas.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of oil on canvas.

Date:

c. 1735

Artist:

French

About this artwork

Professional women artists were rare in the 1730s. The Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture, which controlled artistic education and competitive art exhibitions called salons, was closed to women. Instead, artistic careers were traditionally limited to those born into families of artists, who could be trained by a male relative. The subject of this portrait probably belonged to such a clan. The presentation here emphasizes the sitter’s luxurious attire, including a swansdown scarf and a damask morning gown, as well as her vocation: she sits confidently before her easel, her palette in hand.

Status

On View, Gallery 216

Department

Painting and Sculpture of Europe

Artist

French School

Title

Portrait of an Artist

Place

France (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1725–1740

Medium

Oil on canvas

Dimensions

101.7 × 82 cm (40 × 32 5/16 in.)

Credit Line

Purchased with funds provided by Mrs. Harold T. Martin in honor of Patrice Marandel

Reference Number

1981.66

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/61741/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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