''Portrait of a Young Girl'' (French: ''Jeune fille en buste'') is an oil on canvas painting by

Pierre-Narcisse Guérin Pierre-Narcisse, baron Guérin (13 March 1774 – 6 July 1833) was a French painter, born in Paris. Biography A pupil of Jean-Baptiste Regnault, he carried off one of the three ''grands prix'' offered in 1796, in consequence of the competitio ...

, from in 1794. It is held at the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

, in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Background

One of Guérin's early works, the painting treats the subject in a frank and direct way. It is a portrait of a young girl, depicted while covering her breasts with both hands. The smooth background, simplicity of the design and the use of the measured color are characteristic of the

neo-classical style Neoclassical architecture, sometimes referred to as Classical Revival architecture, is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy, France and Germany. It became one of the most promin ...

and of the school of

Jean-Baptiste Regnault Jean-Baptiste Regnault (; 9 October 1754 – 12 November 1829) was a French painter. Biography Regnault was born in Paris, and began life at sea in a merchant vessel. At the age of fifteen his talent attracted attention, and he was sent to ...

and

Jacques-Louis David Jacques-Louis David (; 30 August 1748 – 29 December 1825) was a French painter in the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical style, considered to be the preeminent painter of the era. In the 1780s, his cerebral brand of history painting marked a change in ...

. The work was acquired by the Louvre in 1978. The girl's short hair is inspired by the Titus cut (), popular in France at the time and based on the hairstyle of the Roman era. In fact, the work is one of the first paintings to depict this hairstyle. The style may have taken its name from Titus Junius Brutus, son of the Roman politician

Lucius Junius Brutus Lucius Junius Brutus (died ) was the semi-legendary founder of the Roman Republic and traditionally one of its two first consuls. Depicted as responsible for the expulsion of his uncle, the Roman king Tarquinius Superbus after the suicide of L ...

. Mary Novik's debut novel, ''

Conceit An extended metaphor, also known as a conceit or sustained metaphor, is the use of a single metaphor or analogy at length in a work of literature. It differs from a mere metaphor in its length, and in having more than one single point of contact be ...

'' used the image for the cover of the book.

References

External links

* 1794 paintings Paintings in the Louvre by French artists Portraits of women Nude paintings of women Neoclassical paintings Paintings by Pierre-Narcisse Guérin {{1790s-painting-stub