Etienne Charles Le Guay

Young Girl in a Park

A young girl in a white dress is seated in a romantic park. In the background on the right stands a big stone vase, tendrilled by roses of which the girl has obviously picked one. On the left, some tree trunks serve to intimate a deep forest which opens to a blue clearing behind the girl's right shoulder. Pensive and dreamy, the lady seems to absorb the power of nature as defined by Rousseau's theories. The environment is romantic - most convenient for a secret meeting. The depth, which was created by Le Guay by blue colour shades and a perspective construction, gives the portrait an airy atmosphere. The light, strongly entering from the side, enabled the artist to model the lady's body with an extraordinary plasticity. The parts painted transparently in contrast to the background make her skin seem especially white, gleaming and tender.