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Visit
Open today 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Admission is always free

6th and Constitution Ave NW
Washington, DC 20565

Sculpture Garden Extended Hours

Open late until 8:00 p.m. on select nights
Through September 5
Exhibitions & Events
America’s 250th

Celebrating American art and artists
Art & Artists
Open Call

Artists Reimagining the Collection
Meet the 50 makers selected from more than 1,600 submissions

Head of a Young Woman

1768

Jean-Baptiste Le Prince

Associated Names

Jean-Baptiste Le Prince

Artist, French, 1734 - 1781

The image shows a close-up of the upper body and face of a person. The individual is slightly turned towards the viewer with their head slightly tilted. The person's facial features appear soft and are partially shadowed due to the lighting. They have a head covering that drapes over the shoulders, decorated with lines and patterns. The fabric suggests a flowing and layered attire, covering most of the person's head and extending down. Despite the distinct outlines, specific details of the facial features are subdued. No jewelry or objects are prominently displayed. The background is plain with some subtle shading.

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Artwork overview

Medium

etching and aquatint on laid paper
Credit Line

Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund and Purchased as the Gift of Ellen von Seggern Richter and Jan Paul Richter
Dimensions

plate: 15.2 × 11.6 cm (6 × 4 9/16 in.)
sheet: 15.2 × 11.7 cm (6 × 4 5/8 in.)
Accession Number

2019.23.5
Catalogue Raisonné

Hedou 1879, no. 107
Series Title

1er Suite de Coeffures dessinées d'après nature (First Suite of Headdresses Drawn from Nature) [plate 5]

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(Kunsthandlung Helmut H. Rumbler, Frankfurt am Main); purchased 2018 by NGA

Associated Names

Rumbler, Helmut H., Mr.

Exhibition History

2021

Aquatint: From Its Origins to Goya, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2021 - 2022.

Bibliography

1879

Hedou, Jules. Jean Le Prince et son oeuvre. Paris: J. Baur Libraire, 1879: no. 107

Inscriptions

upper right in plate: 5; lower left in image: Le Prince / 1768

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