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Portrait of a Young Woman

ca. 1798–99
Not on view
The sober modesty projected by this unidentified young woman is characteristic of ascendant middle-class elegance during the later Directory period. Elements such as her hair—swept up in the simplest nod to current fashion without the careful curls seen on wealthier women in formal portraits—suggest a date of about 1798–99. Boilly painted portraits in this format in two-and-one-half hours or less, so that his clients could take them away following the sitting; he claimed to have painted 4,500 of them.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Portrait of a Young Woman
  • Artist: Louis Léopold Boilly (French, La Bassée 1761–1845 Paris)
  • Date: ca. 1798–99
  • Medium: Oil on paper, laid down on canvas
  • Dimensions: 8 5/8 x 6 1/2 in. (22 x 16.5 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: The Whitney Collection, Promised Gift of Wheelock Whitney III, and Purchase, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Charles S. McVeigh, by exchange, 2003

  • Object Number: 2003.42.5
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

More Artwork

More Artwork
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Study of Three Heads, Louis Léopold Boilly French, Black and white chalk, with stumping
Study of Three Heads
Louis Léopold Boilly
ca. 1823
The Card Players, Louis Léopold Boilly French, Lithograph
The Card Players
Louis Léopold Boilly
Delpech
1822
The Wedding Present, Louis Léopold Boilly French, Etching with stippling and engraving
The Wedding Present
Louis Léopold Boilly
ca. 1815
Hired Hands, Louis Léopold Boilly French, Lithograph
Hired Hands
Louis Léopold Boilly
Delpech
1822
The Comb Punch, Louis Léopold Boilly French, Lithograph; printed in blue, brown, black, green, yellow, and blue inks
The Comb Punch
Louis Léopold Boilly
Delpech
1822

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