Two Young Women Seated on the Ground [recto]

c. 1698

Charles de La Fosse

Associated Names
Charles de La Fosse

Artist, French, 1636 - 1716

The image features a drawing of two seated women shown from approximately the waist up, positioned closely together. The woman on the left faces forward and slightly turns toward the woman on the right. She has softly styled hair, refined facial features, and a calm expression, and appears to have pushed sleeves on her garment. The woman on the right is seated with one arm resting on her knee, with a gentle expression and similarly styled hair. She wears draping clothing that suggests the texture and volume of the fabric. Both women are depicted in a loose, sketch-like technique with soft lines and shading, creating a sense of depth and movement. The drawing uses red chalk on light brown paper, with visible lines and marks indicating the contour and shadows of the subjects. In the background, there is a faint suggestion of shading indicating a surface the women might be sitting on. A third hand and partial arm are sketched reaching into the scene from off the page. Numbers and markings are visible near the upper right corner of the paper.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    red and black chalks heightened with white chalk on light brown (originally blue) laid paper; squared in black chalk

  • Credit Line

    Millennium Funds/New Century Fund

  • Dimensions

    image: 23.3 x 35.3 cm (9 3/16 x 13 7/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2003.87.1.a

Associated Artworks

The image shows a person in a crouching or crawling position. The person's upper body is leaning forward and supported by their forearms, while their legs are slightly bent and extended behind them. The person's face is not clearly visible as they are facing downward with long hair covering most of it. The outfit is loose and flowing, with folds indicating a long-sleeved garment and a billowing lower section. There are no accessories or objects visible, and the background is a plain, lightly textured surface.

Young Woman Kneeling and Reaching Forward [verso]

Charles de La Fosse

1695


Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Private collector EB (not in Lugt, but similar to E. Bénézit's stamp); Private collection; (sale, Piasa, Paris, 4 December 2002, no. 51); (Thomas Agnew & Sons, Ltd., London); purchased 2003 by NGA

Associated Names

Exhibition History

2004

  • Six Centuries of Prints and Drawings: Recent Acquisitions, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 2004 - 2005 (no cat.).

2009

  • Renaissance to Revolution: French Drawings from the National Gallery of Art, 1500-1800. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 84-85, 279, 2009, no. 33 (color; recto and verso).

2015

  • Charles de La Fosse, 1636-1716: Le triomphe de la couleur, Musée national des Châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon, Versailles, 2015, unnumbered catalogue.

Bibliography

2003

  • Grasselli, Margaret Morgan. "Charles de La Fosse, Two Young Women Seated on the Ground." National Gallery of Art Bulletin, no. 30 (Fall 2003): 10.

2006

  • Gustin Gomez, Clémentine. Charles de La Fosse, 1636-1716: Le maître des Modernes. 2 vols. Paris, 2006, 1: 186-187, 2: 195-196, no. D.44.

2012

  • Gustin Gomez, Clémentine. Charles de La Fosse, 1636-1716. Cahier du dessin français, no. 16. Paris, 2012: 17, 59, nos. 46 (recto), 47 (verso), both reprod., the recto in color.

Inscriptions

vertically in pen and brown ink beside the right figure: 203; in graphite in a modern hand along the right margin at upper right: Coypel

Watermarks

possible watermark center top edge

Wikidata ID

Q64538460

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