Portrait of a Lady with a Flower, French pastel from the Louis XVI period

Description

Pastel portrait on paper depicting a lady of quality shown half-length, turned three-quarters towards the viewer. Dressed in a gown with a neckline edged in fine lace and gilded motifs, she is wrapped in a terracotta mantle with green revers. Her high powdered hairstyle, adorned with fresh roses, evokes the fashion of the end of Louis XVI’s reign. With her slender fingers, she holds a sprig of white flowers. The pastel delicately renders the diaphanous texture of the skin and the velvety quality of the draperies. The work is presented in its period carved and gilded wooden frame, adorned with a row of pearls and a frieze of raie-de-cœur motifs.