A bust by David d’Angers for the Metropolitan

27/8/25 - Acquisition - New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Lofty or bohemian, strict or romantic, rolled, knotted, braided, or artfully tousled, the chignon is dictated by fashion and reveals an era. It also represents a challenge for portraitists, eager to master its intricacies as much as hairdressers. The one rising atop the head of Ann Buchan Robinson, sculpted in marble by David d’Angers in 1831, forms a large knot with two loops, giving the sitter an air both demure and imperious. It can also be found in the hair of Léontine de Rivière, painted by Vigée Le Brun that same year, and in that of Céleste Motte, later Madame Achille Devéria, represented in profile on a medallion by the sculptor in 1828.