Standing Woman Holding a Spindle, and Head of a Woman in Profile to Right
ca. 1714–18
Medium
Two shades of red chalk
Dimensions
6 7/16 x 4 13/16 in. (16.4 x 12.2 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequeathed by Anne D. Thomson, 1923
Accession Number
23.280.5
Tags
About this artwork
This drawings exemplifies the artistic traditions of its period. Created ca. 1714–18, it demonstrates the two shades of red chalk technique characteristic of its era.
Art Historical Context
Antoine Watteau’s “Standing Woman Holding a Spindle, and Head of a Woman in Profile to Right” offers a delicate glimpse into early eighteenth-century French draftsmanship. Created around 1714–18, the small sheet captures two related studies of women—one a full-length figure engaged in the simple task of spinning, the other a refined profile head. Such drawings reveal Watteau’s habit of observing ordinary gestures and expressions, preserving them for later use in his paintings. The work is executed in two shades of red chalk, a technique prized for its warm tonal range and ability to suggest b...
About the Artist
Antoine Watteau · 1684–1721
Jean-Antoine Watteau, born in 1684 in Valenciennes to a modest family—his father a roofer named Jean-Philippe Watteau—was the second of four sons who displayed an early passion for art. After initial apprenticeship under local painter Jacques-Albert Gérin, he moved to Paris around 1702, working in workshops copying Flemish and Dutch genre scenes. By 1705, he entered the studio of Claude Gillot, ab...