Bust Length Portrait in Profil Perdu
1723-1728
Classification
Bound print
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Purchased for the Museum by the Advisory Council
Accession Number
1921-6-224-121
About this artwork
Research in Progress
Art Historical Context
Antoine Watteau, a French Rococo artist (1684–1721), is celebrated for his delicate, dreamlike scenes of aristocratic leisure known as *fêtes galantes*. This *Bust Length Portrait in Perdu*—dated 1723–1728, after his death—likely represents a print reproduction of one of his refined portrait drawings or paintings. The term "profil perdu" refers to a subtle, evocative view of the subject's profile turned slightly away, a technique Watteau mastered to capture introspection and elegance with minimal lines and soft shading. As a bound print in the Smithsonian American Art Museum's collection, acq...