Portrait of Lady Lea
1750
oil
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
1750
oil
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
Portrait of Lady Lea is a 1750 oil by Thomas PRA Lawrence, a Rococo painting work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.
The painting shows a woman's head, set against a dark background. Her face is detailed, but the rest of her is just a sketch. The artist likely used this sketch to plan a larger portrait. This sketch is interesting because it gives us a glimpse into the artist's process. We can see how they worked up the details of the face, but left the rest rough. This might have been a way for the artist to test out ideas before committing to a full portrait. The artist's use of dark backgrounds and detailed faces is similar to a technique called chiaroscuro.
A three-quarter view portrait of a young woman, rendered in oil, depicts her head and neck turned slightly to the left, with her shoulders faintly indicated. The sitter’s identity remains uncertain, with the title possibly referencing a misspelling of "Leigh," potentially identifying her as Margarette, daughter of the Reverend William Shippen Willes. The work exemplifies Lawrence’s practice of sketching the pose in black chalk before developing the head in oil, resulting in a luminous, detailed portrayal against a dark background. The elongated neck and pose align with his characteristic…
Read the full account in the museum source.
Thomas PRA Lawrence made prints and oil portraits in late 18th- and early 19th-century Britain.
See the richer artist pageYour cart is empty
Explore artworks →
![Portrait of Miss Elizabeth Linley [later Mrs. Richard Brinsley Sheridan]](https://pub-3a17a9933ad74fb28aa30fa758592f23.r2.dev/artworks/f6700966431aaba8/thumb.webp)
