Portrait of a Young Woman

Antoine-Denis Chaudet (1763-1810)
1788, Terracotta

A pupil of Jean-Baptiste Stouf and Etienne Gois, Chaudet was awarded the first Sculpture Prize in 1784, enabling him to spend four years at the French Academy in Rome. Back in Paris, inspired by the works of classical antiquity, the 25-year-old artist produced this original bust, the portrait of a young woman, her shoulders covered by a shawl, with an elaborate hairstyle and tresses rolled into wide volutes. The 18th-century style is evident in the gentleness and sensitivity of the modelling, and the care for a certain realism and decorative effects; it also demonstrates the artist's tendency towards Neo-Classicism, as seen in the strictly frontal presentation and the choice of a square pedestal.