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A young woman gazes dreamily out of the picture, but not directly at us. She appears to be outside in a dark woody landscape. She gathers her semi-translucent shawl about her head but does not seem to have noticed that the front of her flimsy muslin dress has fallen down, revealing her left breast. Her soft brown wavy hair is tied loosely about her head with a pink ribbon. Her averted eyes do not challenge the viewer’s own, allowing us freely to view her body, tantalisingly at once concealed and revealed in this dark, secluded setting. Greuze creates a deliberately ambiguous image, blurring the line between youth and maturity, innocence and sensuality – a characteristic of his expressive heads that was much admired by his contemporaries.
Title
A Girl
Date
late 18th century
Medium
Oil on wood, probably mahogany
Measurements
H 45.7 x W 38.1 cm
Accession number
NG206
Acquisition method
Bequeathed by Richard Simmons, 1846/7
Work type
Painting