Portrait of a Woman
1780
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
1780
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
This small, round painting shows a woman dressed in fancy 18th-century clothes. She’s sitting on a chair, holding a fan, with a mirror and a table of flowers behind her. The gold frame looks like it could be part of a locket or box. The painting uses soft light to make her face and hands stand out against the darker background. The details in her dress and the flowers are painted carefully, but the colors are a little faded. Next, look up chiaroscuro to see how artists use light and shadow like this.
