One of Niobe's Daughters

Pajou employed only black chalk, allowing swift, expressive strokes to define the anatomy and movement. The lines are loose and gestural, giving the figure a sense of immediacy while the surrounding paper remains largely untouched. This minimal use of chiaroscuro—contrast between light and dark—heightens the drama of the pose without relying on elaborate shading.

Created in the mid‑eighteenth century, the drawing is part of Pajou’s broader engagement with classical themes during the Rococo period. Though specific ownership records are limited, the work has been catalogued among his preparatory studies for larger mythological compositions, illustrating his process of translating narrative into dynamic figure studies.