Related external works: realisation

François Le Moyne: A Vestal Virgin Tending Fire / Vestalin, das Feuer hütend, ca. 1726/1727, Öl auf Leinwand, 88,9 x 106,7 cm. Inv. Nr. 65.48, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, The Ethel Morrison Van Derlip Fund, Minneapolis

Head of a woman with veil (Vestal Virgin, guarding the fire), ca. 1726 – 1727

Blatt: 238 x 219 mm

Inventory Number: 1102

Object Number: 1102 Z

Status: Request for presentation in the study room of the Prints and Drawings Department

Texts

About the Work

François Lemoyne, who was about the same age as Watteau, pursued a career as a court artist. He produced large decorative wall and ceiling paintings in Versailles and attained the status of “first painter to the king”. For this study of a woman’s head, probably made in preparation for a painting, he used the colour- istic three-chalk technique, and to an extent handled the lines loosely and freely. The artificial, histrionic expression, however, has nothing in common with Watteau’s lifelike drawings.