Artwork Page for Head of an Italian Woman

Details / Information for Head of an Italian Woman

Head of an Italian Woman

c. 1847

Jean-Léon Gérôme

(French, 1824–1904)
Culture
France, 19th century
Medium
oil on fabric
Measurements
Framed: 60 x 51 x 6 cm (23 5/8 x 20 1/16 x 2 3/8 in.); Unframed: 44.5 x 36 cm (17 1/2 x 14 3/16 in.)
Credit Line
Bequest of Noah L. Butkin 1980.264
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Description

Gérôme spent the years 1843 and 1844 in Rome, where this work was painted. The woman's severe expression and drapery recall ancient Roman statuary as well as the 19th-century belief that the essence of the antique could still be found amid the ruins and people of contemporary Rome.
A vertically oriented oil painting depicts a woman with medium-light skin tone from the shoulders up, her gaze directed slightly to our right against a bright blue background. Her dark hair is parted centrally and adorned with a thin wreath of leaves and small flowers. Her lips are pressed in a firm line. She wears a dark brown garment featuring a red geometric border at the neckline and gold shoulder clasps.

Head of an Italian Woman

c. 1847

Jean-Léon Gérôme

(French, 1824–1904)
France, 19th century

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