Artwork
Faustine Léo (1832–1865)
Faustine Léo (1832–1865) is an oil painting by the Neoclassicist artist Henri Lehmann. It dates from 1842 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The work adheres to conventional portraiture, focusing on the sitter’s likeness without overt allegorical or narrative elements.
Henri Lehmann’s Faustine Léo (1832–1865) is a portrait depicting a young girl, identified as Faustine Léo, who was ten years old at the time of the painting’s execution in 1842. The work adheres to conventional portraiture, focusing on the sitter’s likeness without overt allegorical or narrative elements. However, the composition’s emphasis on Faustine’s direct gaze and composed demeanor may symbolize innocence, youth, and the cultivated refinement associated with the bourgeois class of mid-19th-century France.
As a genre, the portrait serves a commemorative function, preserving the subject’s image for posterity while subtly reflecting the social status and cultural values of her milieu.
Technique & Style
Executed in 1842, this portrait by Henri Lehmann is an oil painting applied to a canvas support. The work measures 100 cm in height and 81.3 cm in width. Classified formally as a portrait, the composition depicts a young girl.
The available records confirm the medium and dimensions but do not provide specific details regarding the artist's brushwork, surface condition, or distinct stylistic handling beyond the general genre classification.
History & Provenance
Henri Lehmann painted this portrait in 1842, employing oil on canvas (100 × 81.3 cm) to depict a young girl. The work is classified as a portrait and was executed in the mid‑19th century, reflecting the academic style of its time. Its creation history is documented through the artist’s date of execution and the medium specifications, which confirm it as an oil painting.
The piece entered the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it remains on view, establishing its current ownership and location. No further commission details or earlier ownership records are recorded in the available sources.
The portrait of Faustine Léo, painted by Henri Lehmann in 1842, is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. While the specific inventory or accession number is not provided in the available records, the work is cataloged within the museum's holdings as an oil-on-canvas painting measuring 100 cm in height and 81.3 cm in width. The source material identifies the piece as a portrait depicting a girl but does not contain information regarding a specific exhibition history or past display venues for this artwork.
Consequently, while its current location and physical attributes are documented, its trajectory through exhibitions remains unrecorded in the provided texts.
Overview
Henri Lehmann's oil painting, Faustine Léo (1832–1865), created in 1842, presents a portrait of a young girl. This work, executed in oil paint, captures the likeness of its subject, Faustine Léo, who was born in 1832 and passed away in 1865. The artwork is currently part of the collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
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