Tête de femme et main d'homme

This study of a woman's head and a man's hand, at the Musee Fabre, dates from 1806 and likely served as a preparatory work for one of David's larger compositions. Such studies reveal the meticulous process behind David's apparently effortless finished paintings. David's austere oil technique rejected all Rococo softness in favor of a firm, sculptural handling that emphasized drawing over color—figures modelled like antique reliefs against neutral backgrounds, inspired by his years studying...

The study format allows David to concentrate on isolated problems of form and light. The woman's head is rendered with delicate attention to the fall of light on skin, while the man's hand is studied as an independent exercise in foreshortening and anatomy.