A Girl

Image credit: The National Gallery, London

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A young girl in three-quarters view looks up and out of the picture to the left. Her transparent shawl, known as a fichu, covers one shoulder but has fallen off the other. Her white muslin dress is only loosely held up over her chest, an effect enhanced by her bodice having come undone. There was a fashion in France at the time for such dresses and for clothes to be worn ‘naturally’. The palette, dominated by shades of white and grey, is warmed by the rose shades of her cheeks, lips and ear.

The picture may look like a portrait but is probably a genre painting – an image of a type. In 1878 and 1879 it was the second most frequently copied old master painting in the entire Gallery, and in 1881 it was the first. This explains why there are so many anonymous copies of it.

The National Gallery, London

London

Title

A Girl

Date

1765-80

Medium

Oil on canvas

Measurements

H 47 x W 39.4 cm

Accession number

NG1019

Acquisition method

Wynn Ellis Bequest, 1876

Work type

Painting

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The National Gallery, London

Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England

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