Seated Woman Holding a Bird Cage (probably 18th century): Art, History and Details

Seated Woman Holding a Bird Cage (probably 18th century) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is François Boucher (French, 1703–1770).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

This chalk drawing originated from the studio of François Boucher. Although it bears Boucher’s signature—seen at lower right—the image was likely executed by a member of the master’s shop, rather than Boucher himself. Despite the anonymity of the draftsman, the image nonetheless reproduces one of Boucher’s designs and was therefore considered a work by the master.

Object facts

• Title: Seated Woman Holding a Bird Cage
• Date: probably 18th century
• Creator attribution: François Boucher (French, 1703–1770)
• Culture: France
• Type: Drawing
• Technique: Black chalk with stumping (in drapery) and wet work (hair and eyes) and red and white chalk, with blue chalk and traces of yellow chalk
• Dimensions: Sheet: 35.9 x 28.9 cm (14 1/8 x 11 3/8 in.)
• Collection: DR - French
• Department: Drawings
• Accession number: 2017.218

Collection credit

Bequest of Muriel Butkin

Further reading listed by the museum

• Ananoff, Alexandre. L'Oeuvre dessiné de François Boucher (1703-1770): catalogue raisonné. Paris: F. de Nobele, 1966.
• Ananoff, Alexandre. L'Oeuvre dessiné de François Boucher (1703-1770): catalogue raisonné. Paris: F. de Nobele, 1966.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.