Study of the portrait 

Maurice Quentin de la Tour made this portrait study with pastel. La Tour was the son of a musician, but he defied his father to become one of the most celebrated portraitists of the French Rococo. During this era, pastel became a favored medium. In this study, we see a woman with a gentle and knowing gaze. She has the slightest hint of a smile and a rosy complexion, which may speak to the fashion of rouge during the 18th century, when women, often against their will, were primarily seen as objects of beauty. This brings up questions about beauty standards, and what it meant to be a woman of status in pre-revolution France. Looking at this study, it’s impossible not to consider how this image embodies the complexities of identity, caught between personal expression and social expectations.