Portrait of a Lady (Mme H.S.)
Artist:
Pierre-Auguste Cot
(French, 1837-1883)
Date: 1879
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions:Overall: 55 x 35 1/2 in. (139.7 x 90.2 cm)
Overall, Frame: 75 x 56 in. (190.5 x 142.2 cm)
Classification: European art
Credit Line: Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.
Object number: 71.2068
DescriptionThis is an oil on canvas painting of a lady. 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 References
Eric Karpeles, _Paintings in Proust_ (London: Thames & Husdson, 2008), 294. ISBN: 978-0-500-23854-7