François Boucher
Bust of a young woman with mantilla, 1728
About the object
Gracefully, with her head slightly lowered, the young woman toys with her veil. This figure was based on a study by Watteau. A frequent mise-en-scène involved his models dressed in refined or amusing attire. He used these sketches as compositional tools for his paintings. Boucher, still young at this time and yet to be famous, etched the drawing.