
There is something fitting about encountering this face through two layers of separation – the veil the sculptor carved, and the museum case that now holds her. This is Fantasy Bust of a Veiled Woman (c.1865–1870), a glazed terracotta by Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse, believed by some to be a portrait of Marguerite Bellanger – actress, courtesan, and one of the most talked-about women in Second Empire Paris. She looks downward, away from us, as if the gaze of the viewer is precisely what she is not interested in returning.



Frederick, Maryland
Image was taken with a Fujifilm X-E5 and XF 50mm f/2.0 lens
Dogwoods in Spring, Washington DC
Baltimore, Maryland

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