We are proud to present this stunning late 19th century bust length portrait, depicting a young woman in partial profile, wearing a white maid's cap and white dress with a delicate pink bow.
The present portrait presents us with many layers of interpretation. Firstly, we can draw conclusions about the sitter from her modest dress - she wears no jewellery and her hair is loose, unrestrained by the tight hairstyles of Victorian high society. The most powerful symbol is the white cap she wears, which is a symbol of servitude and low society. Perhaps she is part of the artist's household staff (we know that the tradition of painting household and servants was made popular by Vermeer and his fellow Dutch Golden Age painters), or could this the artist's lover? Perhaps this is a self-portrait, in which the artist is commenting on her own lack of autonomy and power.
The decision to paint the sitter in partial profile is also an interesting one - while her body is facing the viewer, her gaze is averted, and most importantly her face is partly cast in the shadow of her cap. By doing this, the painter has removed the sitter's female gaze, which sits within art history's tradition of placing women as the subject and men as the viewer.
The tradition of profile portraits is an interesting one, as the sitters were predominantly female. Examples of this are found in some of the world's most famous paintings; Renaissance portraits of Florence presented women in profile as idealised and heavily decorated; the Pre Raphaelites red headed beauties often averted their gaze from the viewer. James McNeill Whistler's 'Portrait of the Artist's Mother' is an obvious example, but Whistler's 'The Little White Girl' is a portrait that could have been used as influence for the present portrait. In Whistler's full length interior portrait, a young woman dressed in white shows the viewer her full self and surroundings, but modestly turns her gaze away and down, casting her eyes away from her own reflection in the mirror above. This influence may indicate that the present portrait was painted by an American artist.
This painting is beautifully presented in a bright gilt frame with berry and shell decoration to the corners. Please refer to the last image above for an accurate representation of the frame's brightness. Refer to the other images for an accurate representation of the painting. Painted on canvas laid to a later backing board.
Unsigned.Overall the appearance of this painting is beautiful. Inspection under UV light reveals no restoration. There are areas of very minor undulations where the canvas has been fixed to the backing board. There is some very minor surface dirt in areas which is typical of a painting this age. The frame is in excellent condition and has been recently restored.
32.5 x 24cm (12.8" x 9.4")Framed Size: 45 x 35cm (17.7" x 13.8")
| SKU | kh961 |
|---|---|
| Date | Late 19th Century |
| Dimensions | 32.5 x 24cm |
| Medium | Oil |
| Subject | Portrait |
| Item Returns | This item can be returned |
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