Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Portrait of a Woman and her Dog
(18th and 19th Centuries )
The elegant works of Jean-Marc Nattier exemplify mid 18th-century French portraiture. Although he was admitted to the Académie Royale (Royal Academy) as a painter of historical subjects (then ranked as the highest category of painting), Nattier specialized in the less prestigious genre of portraiture. Though he worked at the court of Louis XV, he broke with the baroque tradition of grandiose portraits. Instead, he produced naturalistic paintings of Queen Marie Leszczynska and her daughters, as well as Madame de Pompadour and other members of the nobility.
The subject of this light-hearted, informal portrait is currently unknown. Previous scholarship, however, identified the young woman as the wife of Antoine-René de Voyer d'Argenson, marquis of Paulmy, who was minister of war under Louis XV and French ambassador to Poland. The museum continues to research this painting and its sitter.
Inscription
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
Comtesse de la Morélie, Falaise, France; King Sale, American Art Association, New York, March, 31, 1905, no. 62; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1905, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Exhibitions
| 2002-2004 | A Magnificent Age: Masterpieces from the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore; The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City; Mint Museum of Art, Charlotte. |
Conservation
| Date | Description | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| 7/8/1971 | Treatment | cleaned |
Geographies
France (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 39 15/16 x W: 31 11/16 in. (101.5 x 80.5 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters, 1905
Location in Museum
Not on view
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
37.895