A Distraught Woman with Her Head Thrown Back

1775/80

Jacques-Louis David

Associated Names
Jacques-Louis David

Artist, French, 1748 - 1825

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.

Media Options

This object’s media is free and in the public domain. Read our full Open Access policy for images.

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    pen and black ink with gray wash over black chalk on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Patrons' Permanent Fund

  • Dimensions

    overall: 19.6 x 15 cm (7 11/16 x 5 7/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1998.105.1.bbb

Associated Artworks

See all 86 artworks

Roman Album No. 4: Italian Landscapes and Antiquities

Jacques-Louis David

1775

Ornament with a Bearded Man in Ancient Dress

Jacques-Louis David

1775

Niobe and Her Daughter

Jacques-Louis David

1775


Artwork history & notes

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Estate of the artist (sale, Paris, 17 April 1826, under no. 66; withdrawn); Mme.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.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

2009

  • Renaissance to Revolution: French Drawings from the National Gallery of Art, 1500-1800. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2009, 256-258, 261, 291, no. 112d (color).

Bibliography

2002

  • Rosenberg, Pierre, and Louis-Antoine Prat. Jacques-Louis David, 1748-1825: Catalogue raisonné des dessins. 2 vols. Milan, 2002, 1: no. 642.

Inscriptions

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

Wikidata ID

Q64580199

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