# Half-length Portrait of a Seated Woman

- By: Charles-Nicolas Cochin (French, 1715–1790)
- Date: 1781
- Medium: black chalk
- Classification: Drawing
- Dimensions: Sheet: 16.5 x 11.4 cm (6 1/2 x 4 1/2 in.); Secondary Support: 25.3 x 20.2 cm (9 15/16 x 7 15/16 in.)
- Culture: France
- Credit line: Bequest of Muriel Butkin
- Museum: [Cleveland Museum of Art](https://clevelandart.org/art/2008.393)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2008.393/2008.393_web.jpg
- Who can see it: Tweens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

Cochin was one of the great portraitists of the 18th century because he made many drawings of some of the most prominent men and women of his time. Typically, his portrait drawings show the sitter in profile, like a bust on a coin or medal. However, toward the end of his life, he began to favor the half-length format we see here. Although he signed and dated this sheet, he unfortunately did not inscribe it with the sitter's name. Recently, two related drawings showing similarly dressed women seated in the same chair we see here sold at auction in Paris. All three sheets probably depict members of the same family.