Woman with Collar

Jean-Baptiste Antoine Cadet de Beaupré (1758-1823)
1810, Terracotta

This portrait of a woman is executed with extreme virtuosity by the artist, who focussed on the details of the empire-style dress with the pleated, openwork lace collar that emphasises the shape of the body. Her face, framed by thick curls, is slightly turned to the left. The posture and attitude are somewhat stiff. Jean-Baptiste Antoine Beaupré Cadet was born in Besançon and was admitted to the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture in Paris, where he studied under sculptor Claude Michel Clodion (1738-1814). In 1783, he was appointed professor of sculpture at the Academy of Valenciennes, and later, in the early 1800s, he became professor of sculpture at the Academy of Lille.