Head of a Female Figure in Profile, Turned to the Right
Hughes Taraval (French, 1729–1785)
c. 1763–1770?
Medium
charcoal with red and white chalk and stumping
Dimensions
37.4 × 26.2 cm
Classification
Drawing
Department
Drawings
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Bequest of Muriel Butkin
Accession Number
2008.363
Tags
male
About this artwork
Like the sheet shown nearby by Greuze, this drawing belongs to a type of work known as an expressive head (tête d'expression). Capturing the representation of a specific emotion on the human face became a standard exercise for artists in France and was especially popular during the second half of the 1700s. In 1758, a special prize for drawing the expressive head was established at the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture. Although we have no documentation regarding the specific emotion Tarav...