Head of a Woman from Behind 1740

Francois Boucher’s "Head of a Woman from Behind" is an exercise in Rococo elegance, rendered in chalk and crayon on paper. The composition, focused on the nape of the neck and elaborate coiffure, is striking. Boucher directs our gaze not to the face, the seat of expression, but to the artifice of hair arranged with ribbons and curls. The artist uses a limited palette - blacks, whites and sanguine red - to create depth and texture. The tactile quality of the drawing is heightened by the contrast between the smooth skin and the intricate hair. This focus on the artificial and the decorative reflects the Rococo’s broader cultural values, in which surface and appearance take precedence over depth and substance. Note how the delicate rendering of the subject and the suggestive, rather than explicit, representation invite contemplation, revealing Boucher’s engagement with ideas about beauty, femininity, and the gaze. Art, after all, is as much about what is shown as what is concealed.