Hoofd van een meisje 1756 - 1776

Curator: Here we have Gilles Demarteau's "Hoofd van een meisje," likely created sometime between 1756 and 1776. It’s a delicate drawing executed in pencil and charcoal. Editor: It has an almost ethereal quality. The tones are soft, and there's a gentle, dreamlike feeling to it. I’m immediately drawn to the texture; I can almost feel the grain of the paper and see how the charcoal settles. Curator: Notice the profile. It evokes classical portraiture, reminiscent of Greco-Roman sculpture. Demarteau was working in a time that embraced Rococo aesthetics, a sort of embrace of antiquity. The delicate features, the carefully arranged hair – it all contributes to this idealized vision of femininity. There’s an innocence in her expression. Editor: It’s interesting to think about the paper itself. Where did it come from? How was it made? Pencil and charcoal weren't simply pulled from thin air, it takes labour and a degree of resource extraction. And Rococo was only possible on the back of so much unseen labour. I can imagine that she perhaps never labored at all. Curator: It's certainly possible to interpret her pose and gentle features as symbols of purity and upper-class leisure. Rococo art was definitely about capturing the ephemeral beauty and privilege of the elite, but perhaps she signifies a time of impending change. It’s right before the Revolution. Editor: It also makes me consider the physical process of drawing, the repetitive marks, and the building up of tone. Look at the hatching along the neck - very carefully considered use of resources, even then. It reminds you of the act of creation itself. Curator: Considering the symbols in the composition, she might have symbolized a shift, and just like the French, our subject has had her fair share of changes since being immortalized by Demarteau. Editor: Thinking about it from this angle brings a lot more resonance for me. What initially appeared merely pretty, actually becomes somewhat reflective on the conditions of its creation, and perhaps its own precarious survival.