Three Studies of a Woman's Head and a Study of Hands [recto]

1718/1719

Antoine Watteau

Associated Names
Antoine Watteau

Artist, French, 1684 - 1721

The image is a sketch depicting three women's upper bodies in various orientations across the composition. Each woman has distinct facial features, including rounded cheeks and subtle lips. Their hair is styled with gentle curls framing their faces. They are shown wearing draped clothing typical of an artistic study. Two hands are drawn touching intricately in the center of the composition. There are no defined background elements in the sketch.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    red chalk and graphite with black chalk and pink wash on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Samuel H. Kress Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall: 17.9 x 15.9 cm (7 1/16 x 6 1/4 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1963.15.34.a

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Rosenberg/Prat 1996, no. 620

Associated Artworks

The image shows a scene with a slightly elevated point of view, providing a full perspective. The horizon is not clearly defined, with the roof lines and trees indicating a settled landscape in the distance. The drawing uses delicate brushstrokes to convey texture and form in a sepia color palette. In the foreground, there are haystacks and a shelter with two figures. To the left, there is a building with a sloping roof and trees. The sky above has faintly drawn clouds.

View of a House, a Cottage, and Two Figures [verso]

Antoine Watteau

1718

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Probably Charles Gasc (L.544), Paris, c. 1850; (Vente L. Tabourier, Paris, Hôtel Drouot, 20-22 June 1898, no. 144); Richard S. Owen, Paris; purchased 1937 by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, New York; gift 1963 to NGA.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1984

  • Watteau, 1684-1721. National Gallery of Art and tour, 1984-85, 99-102, no. 36 (Margaret Morgan Grasselli).

1999

  • "Watteau and His World: French Drawings from 1700 to 1750", The Frick Collection, New York; National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, 1999-2000, no. 44a, 44b (Alan Wintermute).

2009

  • Renaissance to Revolution: French Drawings from the National Gallery of Art, 1500-1800. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2009, 104-105, 281, no. 43 (color; recto and verso).

Bibliography

1875

  • Goncourt, Edmond de. Catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre peint, dessiné et gravé d'Antoine Watteau. Paris, 1875: under no. 572.

1957

  • Parker, K.T. and J. Mathey, Antoine Watteau, catalogue complet de son oeuvre dessiné. 2 vols. Paris, 1957, 2: no. 781.

1977

  • Eisler, Colin. _Paintings from the Samuel H. Kress Collection: European Schools Excluding Italian. London, 1977: 300, dK505, fig. 265.

1978

  • Jean-Richard, Pierrette. Musée du Louvre. Cabinet des Dessins. Collection Edmond de Rothschild. Inventaire général des graveurs. École Français I. L'Oeuvre gravé de François Boucher... Paris, 1978, 51, under no. 101 (verso).

1984

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 675, no. 1078, color repro. (recto only).

  • Opperman, Hal. "The Countenance of Watteau." unpublished manuscript, 1984: 50.

  • Roland Michel, Marianne. Watteau. Un artiste au XVIIIe siècle. Paris and London, 1984: 87-88, 253, 277 note 33.

1985

  • Börsch-Supan, Helmut. Watteau 1684-1721: Führer zur Ausstellung im Schloss Charlottenburg. Berlin, 1985: no. 84.

1987

  • Grasselli, Margaret Morgan. "New Observations on Some Watteau Drawings." in François Moureau and Margaret Morgan Grasselli, eds., Antoine Watteau (1684-1721): The Painter, His Age and His Legend. Papers from the colloquium held in Paris in 1984. Paris, 1987: 99-100, fig. 10 (recto) and fig, 12 (verso).

  • Roland Michel, Marianne. "Watteau et les Figures de différents caractères." In François Moureau and Margaret Morgan Grasselli, eds., Antoine Watteau (1684-1721): The Painter, His Age and His Legend. Papers from the colloquium held in Paris in 1984. Paris, 1987: 119 note 2.

  • Grasselli, Margaret Morgan. "The Drawings of Antoine Watteau: stylistic development and problems of chronology." 3 vols. Ph.D. dissertation, Harvard University, Cambridge, 1987: 240 n. 10, 410 n. 55, 427-428, no. 257, figs. 519 (recto) and 520 (verso).

1996

  • Rosenberg, Pierre and Louis-Antoine Prat. Antoine Watteau 1684-1721. Catalogue raisonné des dessins. Milan: Leonardo Editore, 1996, 2: no. 620.

1998

  • Sotheby's New York, sale cat., 21 May 1998, 166, under lot 125, fig. 2.

Watermarks

F FONTAINE w/ heart between, all enclosed in a long oval

Wikidata ID

Q64536224

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