Portrait of a Woman
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
31 1/2 x 25 1/4 in. (80 x 64.1 cm), with later additions of 1 1/4 in. (3.2 cm) at bottom, 1 in. (2.5 cm) at left, and 1/2 in. (1.3 cm) at right
Classification
Paintings
Department
European Paintings
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Jack and Belle Linsky Collection, 1982
Accession Number
1982.60.42
Tags
Art Historical Context
Jean-Marc Nattier’s *Portrait of a Woman*1753) exemplifies the elegance of French Rococo portraiture at the height of the Ancien Régime. Painted in oil on canvas, this half-length portrait captures the refined grace of 18th-century aristocracy. Nattier, a favored court painter to Louis XV, specialized in flattering depictions of noblewomen, often infusing his works with a luminous, porcelain-like finish achieved through meticulous glazing techniques. The medium’s rich tonal range allowed him to render silky fabrics and soft skin with exquisite realism, evoking the opulence of Versailles. Meas...