Unknown maker
Old Woman with a Muffsecond half 18th century
An unrecorded French artist painted this in the second half 18th century. It is now at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. More about this work
About this work
This painting shows a seated elderly woman from the waist up. She faces us with a neutral expression. She has a fair complexion with visible wrinkles, rosy cheeks, and pink lips. Her hair is mostly covered by a white lace cap and a black headscarf. She wears a patterned reddish-brown garment with lace around the collar and sleeves, and her hands rest on a brown fur muff. The background is a dark gray-brown color with visible brushstrokes.
Description from the National Gallery of Art.
An unrecorded French artist painted this in the second half 18th century. It is now at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.
How it was made
- Oil paint
- Pigment ground in a drying oil, usually linseed. It dries slowly, so painters could blend on the canvas, build up thin translucent glazes, and rework a picture over weeks. Canvas replaced wooden panels in the 1500s because it is lighter and can be rolled.
Rights and the museum’s record
Public domain. The National Gallery of Art has dedicated this image to the public domain under CC0, so anyone may copy, adapt and use it, for any purpose, without asking. Our prints and files are reproductions made from the museum’s image; the museum doesn’t endorse them.
- Object number
- 1946.7.10
- Credit
- Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
- Type
- Painting
- Licence
- CC0 1.0 Universal
- Museum record
- See it on the museum’s site
