Public data from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Learn more
About the Artwork
The precise rendering of the costume and the unique facial features of the woman indicate this work is a true portrait, although the sitter has yet to be identified.
Inscriptions
Signed on cut of left proper arm: "p[ar?] j. B, F, Defernex 1759"
Provenance
-1965: Galerie de Bayser & Strolin (Paris, France), sold to Severance and Greta Millikin 1965-1985: Severance Millikin (1895-1985) and Greta Millikin (1903-1989), upon his death, retained by Greta Millikin 1985-1988: Greta Millikin (1903-1989), upon her death, held in trust by the estate. 1989: Estate of Greta Millikin, by bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art. 1989-: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Exhibition history
The Severance and Greta Millikin Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 5-September 2, 1990).
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Jean-Baptiste Defernex (French, c. 1729–1783)
- Date
- 1759
- Medium
- terracotta
- Dimensions
- Overall: 39.3 x 24.6 x 14.7 cm (15 1/2 x 9 11/16 x 5 13/16 in.); without base: 31.5 cm (12 3/8 in.)
- Type
- Sculpture
- Classification
- Sculpture
- Department
- European Painting and Sculpture
- Credit line
- Bequest of Mrs. Severance A. Millikin
- Accession no.
- 1989.155
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Open-access museum record · AT-00010683
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