Sophie Arnould (1744–1802) was one of the foremost actress-singers of her day. Although there is no documentary evidence to prove that Greuze painted Mademoiselle Arnould's portrait, he did dedicate the engraving of 'The Broken Pitcher' (Paris, Louvre) to her in 1773. It was an early purchase by the 4th Marquess of Hertford, acquired soon after his succession to the marquisate. It attests to his interest in Greuze from the outset of his collecting career. It was described by the art historian and critic Clément de Ris: ‘Portrait of Sophie Arnould ... the neck overly long and badly placed on the shoulders with the beginnings of a curve which reminds one of nothing so much as of a duck. But the head is well modelled and not in that dry cottony manner in which the sad originality of Greuze resides’.