Bust of a Young Girl (recto); Profile of a Young Girl (verso)

Art Historical Context

This delicate double-sided drawing by French artist Paul Adolphe Rajon captures the quiet grace of youth through two studies of a young girl. Created in 1886, the recto presents a bust-length executed in red chalk transfer, while the verso offers a profile view rendered directly in red chalk on gray wove paper. Rajon, celebrated for his reproductive etchings after old masters and contemporary painters, here demonstrates his mastery of chalk as a medium for intimate, tonal studies. The choice of red chalk, or sanguine, lends a warm, lifelike quality to the figures, allowing subtle gradations of light and shadow that evoke classical drawing traditions from the Renaissance through the 19th century. Measuring just over 12 by 9 inches, the sheet’s compact scale invites close viewing, revealing the artist’s sensitivity to contour and expression. As a work in the Prints and Drawings department at the Art Institute of Chicago, it highlights Rajon’s technical versatility during a period when printmaking was undergoing revival. Such drawings often served as preparatory studies or explorations of form, bridging painting and print processes. The dual images on a single sheet offer visitors a glimpse into an artist’s working method, where one side may represent a transferred design and the other a freer sketch.

About the Artist

Paul Adolphe Rajon · 1842–1888

Paul Adolphe Rajon (1843–1888) was a distinguished French painter and etcher renowned for his exquisite portrait prints. Born in Dijon as the youngest of three children to hairdresser Jean Marie Rajon and shop girl Caroline Jaugey, he began his artistic path early. At age 14, he apprenticed as a portrait retoucher for his brother-in-law, photographer Pierre Joseph Meurisse, in Metz. From 1859 to 1...