Head of a Girl

Eugenie Marie Salanson 1864 - 1892

Summary

Sentimental portraits of children in rustic and mythological settings were a popular genre in mid-19th century painting. This picture of a young girl in a loose blouse, with large blue eyes and daisies in her long fair hair, is by the French genre painter Eugénie Salanson. The Académie des Beaux-Arts, Paris did not accept women at that time, so Salanson joined the Académie Julian, where she was taught by William-Adolphe Bouguereau. Afterwards, Léon Cogniet took her on as a private pupil. She made her debut at the Salon in 1864 and in the 1880s moved to the coast of Normandy, where she painted many portraits of the local fisherwomen. Her subjects were almost exclusively women.