Reclining Nymph

c. 1752

François Boucher

Associated Names
François Boucher

Artist, French, 1703 - 1770

The drawing shows a reclining figure on a flat surface, positioned on their side with a slightly arched back, head leaned back, and facing upwards. The figure has a outlined face with closed mouth and defined chin, and loose hair. The body is unclothed, with attention to form and shading. The background is simple and sketched lightly. There are no visible accessories. The artwork is on textured paper, using charcoal or graphite for shading and white highlights for depth.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    black and white chalk on brown laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Gift of Gertrude Laughlin Chanler

  • Dimensions

    overall: 22.7 x 39.8 cm (8 15/16 x 15 11/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2000.9.4

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Peter Jones, Chester; Mr. Greene; Basil Lewis Dighton [d. 1930], London; The Hon. Irwin Boyle Laughlin, Washington, D.C., 1918; his wife, Therese Iselin Laughlin, Washington, D.C., 1941; their daughter, Gertrude Laughlin Chanler, New York, 1958; gift to NGA, 2000.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1932

  • Exhibition of French Art, 1200-1900, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1932, no. 772 (Commemorative catalogue, London, 1933: no. 644).

1982

  • Eighteenth Century Drawings from the Collection of Mrs. Gertrude Laughlin Chanler, NGA, Washington, D.C., 1982, no. 5.

2000

  • Drawings and Prints from the Permanent Collection (Summer 2000), National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2000 (no catalogue).

Bibliography

1989

  • Ingamells, John. The Wallace Collection, Catalogue of Pictures. Vol. 3, French before 1815. London, 1989: 76, under P486.

Wikidata ID

Q64569760

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