The pouting mouth, the gaze on the left impress a thoughtful and serene character to the representation. The attention to render the furrows of the face, its forces through the muscles as much as the laxity, for instance the bags under the eyes is characteristic of the French art of the late eighteenth century, in a veristic movement resisting neoclassicism, following the examples of Pajou and Lemoyne.
We attribute this beautiful head to Jean-Baptiste Defernex (1728-1783), who created a large number of small demi-nature busts of a similar style, among which we can mention the bust of the Marquis d'Argenson conserved in Atlanta, the bust of Marie- Anne Botot d'Angeville, or the presumed bust of the Princess of Bethune-Sully.
Patinated terracotta
Mounted on a tinted wooden base.
Total height: 18.9 cm - Height of the head: 12.8 cm
