Louis HersentFrench, 1777–1860Sophie Crouzet
Can I see it?
Yes, on view now
Where is “Sophie Crouzet” now? The Cleveland Museum of Art, 202 French Neoclassical Decorative Arts, Cleveland. Yes, on view now. Checked September 29, 2026.
On public display.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the painting
The sitter's dress deliberately evokes ancient Roman costume. However, the white muslin and straightforward cut also derives from earlier English fashions that favored simplicity in contrast to the elaborate, colorful clothing favored earlier in the 1700s. The transparency of her dress also carries political and cultural meaning: during the French Revolution in 1789, costume began to signify political allegiance, a sign of the character of the person who wore it. For women, transparency became increasingly literal, as in the sheer fabric worn by Crouzet, who came from a family of active revolutionaries.
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Details
- Accession number
- 1943.659
In the catalog
Sources
- The Cleveland Museum of Art
- Image: The Cleveland Museum of Art — Museum open access
