Attributed to Jean-Marc Nattier

The identity of the artist who made this drawing remains unconfirmed, though it is usually attributed to Jean-Marc Nattier, a successful painter of court society during the reign of Louis XV. Nattier was received into the Académie Royale as a history painter, yet his financial situation pushed him in the direction of portraiture, a field in which he could more easily support his large family. Rendered in red chalk, the drawing appears to be a portrait study of a contemporary of the artist.