Portrait of a Gentleman / Maurice-Quentin de La Tour
About this Item
Record Details
- Accession Number
- 1999/1.92
- Title
- Portrait of a Gentleman
- Artist
- Maurice-Quentin de La Tour
- Artist Nationality
- French
- Artist Life Dates
- 1704-1788
- Medium and Support
- pastel on paper
- Object Creation Date
- circa 1750
- Object Creation Place
- Europe (continent)
- France (nation)
- Creation Place 1
- Europe (continent)
- Creation Place 2
- France (nation)
- Dimensions
- 80.01 cm x 63.5 cm x 12.7 cm (31 1/2 in. x 25 in. x 5 in.)
- Century
- 18th century
- Primary Object Classification
- Drawing
- Primary Object Type
- portrait
- Physical Description
- A middle age man in a powdered wig is shown in a bust-length portrait against an undifferentiated blue background. In addition to the wig, he is wearing a mauve silk coat, orange waistcoat, and ruffled white shirt. His shoulders are in profile to the viewer, but the sitter turns his head and looks in the direction of the viewer. The expression is one of great intelligence, wit and even humor.
- Subject Matter
- De La Tour was considered the consummate master of the pastel medium. His penetrating portrayals of the aristocracy and royalty were as developed and complete as oil paintings—and as sought after. His sitters included Madame de Pompadour, the official mistress of Louis XV, herself an accomplished artist. This bust-length portrait of an unknown sitter shares the informality of the Perronneau portrait of Laurent Cars.
- Secondary Keywords
- objects we use
- people
- people (agents)
- people and culture
- people by gender
- portraits
- visual works
- visual works by subject type
- Rights
- If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit https://umma.umich.edu/about/services/request-image/ for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.
Technical Details
- Collection
- University of Michigan Museum of Art
- Image Size
- 1818 x 2316
- File Size
- 560 KB
- Record
- 1999/1.92
- Link to this Item
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1999-sl-1.92/1999_1_92.jpg
Rights and Permissions
Related Links
Portfolios
- In public portfolios
Cite this Item
View the Help Guide for more information.
- Full citation
-
"Portrait of a Gentleman; Maurice-Quentin de La Tour." In the digital collection University of Michigan Museum of Art. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1999-sl-1.92/1999_1_92.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed May 27, 2024.
