Giuseppe de Nittis
Portrait of a Woman
c. 1876-1884
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Giuseppe de Nittis
Portrait of a Woman
c. 1876-1884
Physical Qualities
Pastel on prepared canvas, Sheet: 554 x 465 mm. (21 13/16 x 18 5/16 in.)
Credit Line
The George A. Lucas Collection, purchased with funds from the State of Maryland, Laurence and Stella Bendann Fund, and contributions from individuals, foundations, and corporations throughout the Baltimore community
Object Number
1996.45.77
Not long after Giuseppe De Nittis settled in Paris in the late 1860s, he established a reputation for himself with his paintings of Parisian life. It was the artist’s pastels, however, that made the largest impression. One of his contemporaries wrote: “To this exquisite art form...De Nittis wishes to bring his modern sensibility.” When De Nittis organized a private exhibition of his pastels in Paris in 1881, the journalist Theodore Childs—the man to whom this pastel is dedicated (see inscription at lower right)—and his friend the collector George A. Lucas were among the visitors who admired the show.
The Baltimore Museum of Art by purchase, 1996; The Maryland Institute College of Art,
through Henry Walters, Baltimore, by bequest 1909; from George A. Lucas, Paris; Theodore Childs
through Henry Walters, Baltimore, by bequest 1909; from George A. Lucas, Paris; Theodore Childs
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "A Century of Baltimore Collecting 1840 - 1940," June 6-September 1, 1941.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "The George A. Lucas Collection of the Maryland Institute," October 12-November 21, 1965.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Nineteenth Century European Painting," June 24-September 7, 1969.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "The Lucas Collection," June 27-Fall 1974.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, Downtown Gallery, "Selections from the Lucas Collection," July 21-August 22, 1975.
The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore, "A Baltimorean in Paris: George A. Lucas, Art Agent 1860-1909," Jan. 28 - Mar. 11, 1979.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Parallels and Precedents, The George A. Lucas Collection in Context," August 23-October 15, 1995.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, Cone Wing rotation, February 5-June 24, 2007.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "The George A. Lucas Collection of the Maryland Institute," October 12-November 21, 1965.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Nineteenth Century European Painting," June 24-September 7, 1969.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "The Lucas Collection," June 27-Fall 1974.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, Downtown Gallery, "Selections from the Lucas Collection," July 21-August 22, 1975.
The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore, "A Baltimorean in Paris: George A. Lucas, Art Agent 1860-1909," Jan. 28 - Mar. 11, 1979.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Parallels and Precedents, The George A. Lucas Collection in Context," August 23-October 15, 1995.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, Cone Wing rotation, February 5-June 24, 2007.
"A Century of Baltimore Collecting 1840 - 1940," Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 1941, p. 45.
"The George A. Lucas Collection of the Maryland Institute," Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 1965, cat. 216, ill. p. 53.
"The Lucas Collection," Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 1974, cat. 216.
Inscribed: lower right in black pastel: "à mon ami Child / De Nittis"
