Q104444791

Produced during Jean-Jacques Henner's Prix de Rome residency in 1861, this oil painting in the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Paris represents the productive middle period of his Italian sojourn. By this point Henner had moved beyond the initial disorientation that often affected French academicians arriving in Rome and was working with increasing confidence. His Italian studies were not merely exercises but genuine explorations: he was drawn particularly to the soft-edged, luminous figure painting of Correggio and to the color harmonies of the Venetians, both of which differed sharply from the more linear Davidian tradition still dominant in Paris. Works produced in Rome during 1861 show him testing these influences in figure studies that would not have been exhibited publicly but served as technical development. The Musée des Beaux-Arts de la ville de Paris holds this work as part of its Henner holdings, which document his career across several decades.

Oil on an unspecified support with the warm, glowing palette typical of Henner's Italian period. Figure modeling through tonal gradation rather than outline reflects the Correggesque influence that was reshaping his academic formation. The paint surface would likely show delicate blending in transition zones, with slightly thicker application in highlighted areas.