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| Portrait of a Young Woman as a Vestal Virgin |
Artist:François Hubert Drouais (French, Paris 1727–1775 Paris)
Date:1767
Medium:Oil on canvas
Dimensions:31 1/2 × 25 1/8 in. (80 × 63.8 cm)
Classification:Paintings
Credit Line:Gift of Mrs. William M. Haupt, from the collection of Mrs. James B. Haggin, 1965
It was not uncommon to depict portrait sitters in the guise of a vestal virgin: many young women were shown thus when they were about to marry. The vestals were Roman guardians of the hearth and house chosen for their youth and purity; hence the presence of what might have been a table but is instead a brazier. The gold-trimmed robe is not contemporary dress but a costume, and the way in which the young woman lifts the veil is typical for the subject.
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