This drawing depicts the full body of a woman facing the right in a dramatic pose. The woman is standing on one leg, with the other leg slightly bent and lifted behind her, appearing to rest on the step of a staircase. Her head is tilted back, and both arms are extended, one in front of her toward the right and the other raised above her head, almost towards the top right corner. The woman's facial features are faint, with small lines suggesting a slightly open mouth and a furrowed brow. She has long, wavy hair that cascades down her back, and she is dressed in a loose, flowing garment with folds and shading. The background is plain aside from the steps below her, although the woman casts a dark shadow.
Read the visual description

This drawing depicts the full body of a woman facing the right in a dramatic pose. The woman is standing on one leg, with the other leg slightly bent and lifted behind her, appearing to rest on the step of a staircase. Her head is tilted back, and both arms are extended, one in front of her toward the right and the other raised above her head, almost towards the top right corner. The woman's facial features are faint, with small lines suggesting a slightly open mouth and a furrowed brow. She has long, wavy hair that cascades down her back, and she is dressed in a loose, flowing garment with folds and shading. The background is plain aside from the steps below her, although the woman casts a dark shadow.

National Gallery of Art · Drawing

A Distraught Woman with Her Head Thrown Back

Jacques-Louis David

Date
1775/80
Medium
pen and black ink with gray wash over black chalk on laid paper
Dimensions
overall: 19.6 x 15 cm (7 11/16 x 5 7/8 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Accession number
1998.105.1.bbb
Credit line
Patrons' Permanent Fund
Time span
1751 to 1775
Department
CG-E

Subjects and terms

  • French
  • Woman
  • Fabric
  • Neoclassic
Provenance

Estate of the artist (sale, Paris, 17 April 1826, under no. 66; withdrawn); Mme. David (sale, Paris, 11 March 1835, under no. 16); purchased by one of David's pupils, Mlle. X (name obliterated);[1] by descent in her family; (Bruno de Bayser, Paris); purchased 1998 by NGA. [1] According to inscription on flyleaf.

Inscription

upper right in black ink: 27; lower left: paraphes of E.D. and J.D.

NGA object ID 107097. Collection metadata is reproduced under CC0. This work is included because its NGA published-image record is marked open access; visitors should recheck the source record before substantial reuse.