The Young Artist (Translation)
La Jeune Artiste (Primary Title)

Attributed to, Joseph-Siffred Duplessis, French, 1725 - 1802 (Artist)

ca. 1760s
French
oil on canvas
Unframed: 31 3/4 × 25 1/2 in. (80.65 × 64.77 cm)
Framed: 40 3/4 × 35 in. (103.51 × 88.9 cm)
49.15.4

In the rationalistic spirit of the 18th century, educational theorists such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau recognized children as a special class of humankind with their own unique personalities. This enlightened realization fostered a greater emphasis on nurturing the individual abilities and characteristics of children. This painting has been attributed to Joseph-Siffred Duplessis, an artist who showed his work successfully at official salons and excelled as a fashionable society portraitist. In this engaging portrait of an unknown sitter, a young artist proudly displays an accomplished drawing, demonstrating her precocious talent and enthusiastic study of the arts.

Gift of Mrs. A. D. Williams
2017: "America Collects Eighteenth-Century French Painting", National Gallery of Art, May 21 - August 20, 2017

1984: Portraits, Peninsula Fine Arts Center, Newport News, Virginia, May 2 - 31, 1984; Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Virginia, June 4 - 29, 1984.

1982-1983: Fragonard and His Friends: Changing Ideals in the Eighteenth Century, Museum of Fne Arts, St. Petersburg, Florida, November 20, 1982 - February 6, 1983; Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, Arkansas, March 4 - April 10, 1983

1967-1968: The Age of Elegance and Grandeur, VMFA Artmobile, August, 1967 - June 1968.

1965-1966: The Williams Collection, VMFA Artmobile II, September, 1965 - June 1966

1961: Pictures Jefferson Most Wanted, University of Virginia, Baily Museum, October 20 - 29, 1961

1883: Exposition des Cent Chefs-d'Oeuvre, Galerie Georges Petit, Paris, June, 1883
Image released via Creative Commons CC-BY-NC

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