The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of April 19, 2024
Half-length Portrait of a Seated Woman
1781
(French, 1715–1790)
Sheet: 16.5 x 11.4 cm (6 1/2 x 4 1/2 in.); Secondary Support: 25.3 x 20.2 cm (9 15/16 x 7 15/16 in.)
Bequest of Muriel Butkin 2008.393
Location: not on view
Description
Cochin was one of the great portraitists of the 18th century because he made many drawings of some of the most prominent men and women of his time. Typically, his portrait drawings show the sitter in profile, like a bust on a coin or medal. However, toward the end of his life, he began to favor the half-length format we see here. Although he signed and dated this sheet, he unfortunately did not inscribe it with the sitter's name. Recently, two related drawings showing similarly dressed women seated in the same chair we see here sold at auction in Paris. All three sheets probably depict members of the same family.- ["Collection de M. A. F. . . ." (Focqué or Foché, according to annotated copy, National Gallery of Art, Washington), Hôtel Drouot, Paris (4 May 1906), 15, no. 23, repr.]. Marius Paulme (Lugt 1910, lower left, in black ink); [his sale, Galerie Georges Petit, Paris (13 May 1929), 47, no. 48, pl. 36]. ["The Property of a Lady," Christie's, London (8 December 1976), 32, no. 118, pl. 39]; purchased in 1976.
- Foster, Carter E., Sylvain Bellenger, and Patrick Shaw Cable. French Master Drawings from the Collection of Muriel Butkin. [Cleveland, Ohio]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2001. Referenced: cat. no. 19, p. 48-49
- French Master Drawings from the Collection of Muriel Butkin. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 26-October 28, 2001); Dahesh Museum of Art (February 19-May 18, 2002).
- {{cite web|title=Half-length Portrait of a Seated Woman|url=false|author=Charles-Nicolas Cochin|year=1781|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2008.393