Artwork
Portrait of a Woman, Said to Be Madame Récamier (1777–1849)
Portrait of a Woman, Said to Be Madame Récamier (1777–1849) is an unspecified painting by Nicolas François Dun. It dates from 1812 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
History & Provenance
The painting is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, as part of its European painting holdings.
Nicolas François Dun executed this portrait in 1812. The work depicts a woman identified in its title as Madame Récamier (1777–1849), though the phrasing "Said to Be" indicates uncertainty regarding the sitter's identity. The painting is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, as part of its European painting holdings.
Specific details concerning the original commission, the chain of ownership prior to its museum acquisition, and a specific accession number are not provided in the available records, and no major exhibitions of the portrait are documented in the consulted sources.
Overview
This painting, titled Portrait of a Woman, Said to Be Madame Récamier, was created in 1812 by the French artist Nicolas François Dun. A portrait miniature painter from Lunéville, Dun captured the likeness of an unidentified woman, though tradition associates her with the prominent social figure Juliette Récamier. The work is currently held in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, representing a facet of early 19th-century portraiture.
Subject & Meaning
The artwork depicts a woman presented frontally, her expression composed and serene. She is adorned with a high, frilled hat secured by a ribbon beneath her chin, complemented by a delicate lace collar. The plain background directs the viewer's attention entirely to the sitter's face and attire, emphasizing her presence and the details of her period fashion. The attribution to Madame Récamier remains a traditional, rather than definitive, identification.
Technique & Style
As a practitioner of portrait miniatures, Nicolas François Dun demonstrates a refined approach to capturing individual likeness. In this painting, the artist employed subtle gradations of light and shadow to model the sitter's features, imparting a sense of three-dimensionality to the face despite the two-dimensional medium. This careful rendering of form through soft shading is characteristic of the detailed attention often found in miniature portraiture of the era.
Artist & collection
Artist
Nicolas François Dun (1764–1832) was a French portrait miniature painter born in Lunéville. There are two works by Dun at the Louvre Museum.
- Sarah Louisa Jenkins
Maria Bartlett (Mrs. Joseph Hall, Jr.)
Mrs. Robert Waterston (Hephzibah Lord)
Mrs. Williams
Portrait of a Young Woman
Portrait of a Woman
Portrait of a Woman
Mrs. Peter Gilman Robbins (Polly Williams)
Portrait of a Woman
Mrs. Thomas Dennie (Sarah Bryant)
Mrs. Thomas Hewes Hinckley (Elizabeth Bass)
Agnes Sewell
