Which surname belonged to the French pastel artist who painted A Girl with a Kitten?

• A. Perronneau
• B. Gainsborough
• C. Delacroix
• D. Ingres

Answer: (A)

Pastel portraiture in 18th‑century France relies on soft gradations, delicate blending, and an intimate, luminous rendering of the sitter. A Girl with a Kitten exemplifies that approachable, tender style achieved with pastel’s velvety quality. Jean-Baptiste Perronneau is the artist who specialized in precisely this kind of work—delicate pastel portraits with smooth skin tones and subtle textures, often featuring young girls and their pets. That combination of medium, subject, and French 18th‑century refinement points to him. The other names come from different contexts: Gainsborough is English and known for oils and grand portrait style; Delacroix and Ingres, though French, are associated with different periods and approaches (Romantic and Neoclassical, respectively) rather than this pastel portrait tradition.