Portrait of a Young Woman in White
Jacques Louis David·c. 1798
Historical Context
This Portrait of a Young Woman in White, from the circle of Jacques-Louis David and dating to around 1798, was painted during the turbulent years of the French Directory. David's Neoclassical style dominated French painting from the Revolution through the Napoleonic era, and his numerous students and followers produced portraits that reflected his emphasis on clear forms, precise drawing, and classical restraint. The simple white dress evokes the antique-inspired fashion popular after the Revolution.
Technical Analysis
The oil on canvas shows the clear, precise draftsmanship and restrained palette of the Davidian school. The simple composition, even lighting, and unadorned white costume reflect the Neoclassical ideal of noble simplicity that David championed.
Provenance
(E. Gimpel & Wildenstein, Paris);[1] sold 1914 to Louisine Waldron Elder, later Mrs. Henry Osborne Havemeyer [1855-1929]; (her estate sale, American Art Association, New York, 10 April 1930, no. 79); Chester Dale [1883-1962], New York; bequest 1963 to NGA. [1] The picture's early history is unknown. According to Frelinghuysen, Alice Cooney, et al., _Splendid Legacy: The Havemeyer Collection_, Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1993: 322, no. 180, it was acquired by Gimpel & Wildenstein from an "unknown source in 1914" and sold by them to Mrs. Havemeyer later that year. Two different accounts of the portrait's earlier provenance, both of dubious accuracy, are contained in the Chester Dale papers in the NGA's curatorial records. According to one of them, apparently furnished by Wildenstein Inc., the portrait was first "sold by Wildenstein to Mr. Gardner, but later bought back and sold to the Havemeyers in about 1912. Miss Cassatt accompanied Mrs. Havemeyer to the Wildenstein gallery in Paris and persuaded her to buy the picture." A different version, sent to Chester Dale by the Paris dealer Etienne Bignou, informed him that "this is the pedigree of the picture by David which you bought at the Havemeyer sale, 'Sold to the French collector Sigismond Bardac of Paris by Mr. Levy. Mrs. Havemeyer bought the picture from Mr. S. Bardac for about $20,000, in 1902 through Miss Mary Cassatt and Baron Christian de Marinitch." It may be noted that a _Portrait de femme. Epoque de la Révolution_, of somewhat similar dimensions given as 100 x 80 cm in the catalogue, had appeared in an anonymous sale in 1894 (Hôtel Drouot, Paris, 15 March, no. 27), when it brought the modest price of 300 francs.
