4x5 transparency scanned on Hasselblad Flextight X1 by Ed Pollard-2017.

Portrait of a Hélène Standish

Artist Pierre Auguste Cot (French, 1837-1883)

CultureFrench

Date1879

MediumOil on canvas

DimensionsOverall: 55 x 35 1/2 in. (139.7 x 90.2 cm)
Overall, Frame: 75 x 56 in. (190.5 x 142.2 cm)

InscribedSigned on front, lower left: "P. A. COT", and lower right: "1879".

Credit LineGift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.

Object number71.2068

Collections

European Art before 1945

On View

Chrysler Museum of Art, Gallery 216

DescriptionThis is an oil on canvas painting of a Hélène Standish. Her figure stands in profile while her head is turned over her left shoulder. A modest pose, her hands clasped together in front of her. She regards the viewer with a serene expression, a slight blush on her cheeks. Her silvery white gown is ornately decorated with gold and pearls. Stiff lace stands up around her collar and the neckline is decorated with pearls. She wears two rings on her wedding finger and a gold bracelet coiled around her left wrist like a snake. A small feathered ornament rests in her gracefully pulled back hair. The background is painted to resemble a faded red carpet or tapestry.

Label TextPierre-Auguste Cot French, 1837–1883 Portrait of a Lady (Mme H.S.), 1879 Oil on canvas La Parisienne—the Parisian woman—was celebrated worldwide as the quintessence of feminine beauty, fashion, and taste. Consider the regal sitter here. Formally posed against a richly patterned, painted leather backdrop, she wears an elaborate, Elizabethan-style evening dress with a standing lace collar and quilted, pearl-studded sleeves. Coolly surveying the viewer, she is the ultimate French fashionista—the essence of high-style contemporary chic. Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. 71.2068 Published ReferencesEric Karpeles, _Paintings in Proust_ (London: Thames & Husdson, 2008), 294. ISBN: 978-0-500-23854-7