Head study of a young girl

Jacques Doucet was a celebrated fashion designer and one of the most important art patrons of his day. His collection was wide-ranging, encompassing eighteenth-century paintings and decorative arts, and Impressionist and Modern paintings including works by Picasso, such as Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (Museum of Modern Art, New York). From 1907-1912, Doucet's collection of eighteenth-century art was housed at his purpose-built hôtel particulier on the rue Spontini in Paris. The present work was displayed on the west wall of the Salon des Pastels in the residence, amongst head studies by Sir Thomas Lawrence, Jean-Baptiste Greuze and Antoine Watteau, captured in a detailed watercolour by Parisian decorator Adrien Karbowsky from 1907 (fig. 1).