Portrait of Charlotte du Val d'Ognes by Marie-Denise Villers (Interpretation and Analysis)

Portrait of Charlotte du Val d'Ognes
Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art

I was scrolling through the Met’s Instagram account the other day (which is a great thing to follow if you enjoy art), and I stumbled upon this beautiful painting, Portrait of Charlotte du Val d'Ognes by Marie-Denise Villers.

Although I had never heard of the piece or the artist, I was immediately drawn to it, and I wanted to chat about it a bit today.

According to the Met, the artist — Villers — was an acolyte of Jacques Louis David, one of the most celebrated French painters of his time. David’s style can be defined as Neoclassical, and Villers’ work follows suit. As the name suggests, the Neoclassical style was inspired by Roman and Greek art. The style is characterized by a focus on the human form, dramatic — almost theatrical — poses, and a clean, pared down style.

Simple and elegant with a spare background, Villers’ portrait is a good example of the Neoclassical style. However, the success of the portrait is due to Villers’ thoughtful and creative composition. The painting depicts a young woman, busy sketching something that is invisible to the viewer. She is looking up, presumably studying the thing that she is drawing; the shadow across her face suggests that something or someone is directly in front of her. Her direct, outward stare suggests that she is drawing the viewer, or, perhaps, is drawing the artist who is painting her. Although some scholars interpret this painting as a self portrait, the Met identifies it as a portrait of another young woman, Charlotte du Val d'Ognes. If you accept this interpretation, the painting offers a tantalizing glimpse of two artists in conversation, each capturing the other creating art. These clever compositional ideas leave the painting open to engagement with the viewer and with other works of art.

The broken window pane in the background is another interesting feature, which can be read as a subtle reference to the chaos and violence of the French revolution.

Disclaimer: I’m not an art historian or an expert on this topic. The above is my opinion, based on my interpretation of my foreknowledge of art and history. If I’ve done any additional research, I’ll note it above.