The Wallace Collection

The Wallace Collection, A Family Collection, A National Museum, An International Treasure House

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A Lady at her Toilet
  • Antoine Watteau (probably 1684 - 1721)
  • A Lady at her Toilet
  • France
  • c. 1717 - 1719
  • Painting
  • Oil on canvas
  • Image size: 45.2 x 37.8 cm
  • P439
  • Small Drawing Room
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  • A lady is seen putting on or removing a chemise, while her maid attends, proffering a gown. The figure of the lady is based on a vivid life drawing by the artist. It is known that Watteau moved in a ‘fast’ set, with whom he would spend evenings sketching from the female life model. It is probably these sketching sessions, and the influence of such company, that inspired the young artist to paint the licentious subjects of which he repented towards the end of his life. On his deathbed he instructed that all such works should be destroyed. The Wallace Collection’s picture is one of only three known surviving works. Nevertheless it stands at the beginning of a distinguished tradition of the contemporary female nude in French art.