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Préparation for a Portrait of Louis XV (1710-1774)
Maurice Quentin de La Tour French
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In the age of Enlightenment when the medium of pastel gained immense popularity, Maurice-Quentin de La Tour was perhaps its most gifted practitioner. He was distinguished from his peers by his ability to capture the inner spirit and intellect of his sitters. To achieve this end he developed a method of preparing his works through preliminary studies of the head, seen from different angles and with different expressions. Described by the French term préparation , these rapid drawings in pastel, often done on blue paper, showcase La Tour’s virtuoso talents. This pastel study was made as part of the preparatory process for La Tour’s first portrait commission of king Louis XV, exhibited in the 1745 Salon. This close study of his head was undoubtedly done from life and makes clear the access and time granted to La Tour. The sense of underlying bone structure, and the tone and texture of the complexion are expertly achieved, but most impressive is La Tour’s ability to convey the quality of mind behind the young king’s eyes, projecting an animated and engaged intellect. Perrin Stein, May 2014
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Artwork Details
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Title: Préparation for a Portrait of Louis XV (1710-1774)
Artist: Maurice Quentin de La Tour (French, Saint-Quentin 1704–1788 Saint-Quentin)
Date: ca.1745
Medium: Pastel on blue paper, arched top
Dimensions: sheet (original sheet): 12 7/8 x 9 7/16 in. (32.7 x 24 cm)
Classification: Drawings
Credit Line: Gift of Mary Tavener Holmes, in honor of Donald Posner, 2005
Accession Number: 2005.66
Learn more about this artwork
Timeline of art history, the eighteenth-century pastel portrait, france, 1600-1800 a.d., museum publications.
"Recent Acquisitions, A Selection: 2004–2005": The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 63, no. 2 (Fall, 2005)
Pastel Portraits: Images of Eighteenth-Century Europe [adapted from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 68, no. 4 (Spring, 2011)]
"A New Preparatory Sketch by Maurice Quentin de La Tour": Metropolitan Museum Journal, v. 42 (2007)
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Born 1704. Died 1788. Nationality French. Birth place Saint-Quentin. Death place Saint-Quentin. La Tour was born in Saint-Quentin in north-eastern France, the son of a musician. He went to college at Saint-Quentin, his father intending that his son should become an engineer. Instead, La Tour went to Paris where he studied with the Flemish ...
Artist: Maurice Quentin de La Tour (French, Saint-Quentin 1704–1788 Saint-Quentin) Date: ca.1745. Medium: Pastel on blue paper, arched top. Dimensions: sheet (original sheet): 12 7/8 x 9 7/16 in. (32.7 x 24 cm) Classification: Drawings. Credit Line: Gift of Mary Tavener Holmes, in honor of Donald Posner, 2005. Accession Number: 2005.66