Study of a Seated Woman Seen from Behind (Marie-Gabrielle Capet)

Adélaïde Labille-Guiard|Marie Gabrielle Capet

1789 · Red, black, and white chalk on toned laid paper · Drawings and Prints

Producing portraits in miniature, pastel, and oil, Labille-Guiard was admitted to the Académie Royale in 1783, one of the few women in eighteenth-century France to earn this honor. This rare example of her draftsmanship shows her vigorous technique in trois crayons (red, black, and white chalks) as akin to that of her husband, François-André Vincent (1746–1816). She depicts here her devoted student Marie-Gabrielle Capet (1761–1818), who lived in the couple's household, staying on even after Labille-Guiard's death in 1803 to care for Vincent until his death in 1816, two years before her own.

Artist

Adélaïde Labille-Guiard|Marie Gabrielle Capet

Date

1789

Medium

Red, black, and white chalk on toned laid paper

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Gift of Mrs. Charles Wrightsman, 2008