Portrait of a Woman
1775
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
1775
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Dominant colour
Portrait of a Woman is a 1775 unspecified by The Artist "V", a Rococo painting work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
A woman in a pale blue dress looks over her shoulder at you. Her hair is powdered white, piled high, and tied with a black ribbon. A single pearl earring glints in the soft light. This tiny portrait—smaller than a postcard—is signed only with the letter V. No one knows who V was, and only a few dozen works like this exist. The artist painted miniatures, a popular way to carry a loved one’s face in your pocket before photos. To see more small faces from the same time, look up england, 18th century.
This portrait was painted by the artist known only by the initial V, who has yet to be identified and whose body of work is not well defined. Miniatures by V have appeared in only a handful of public collections and exhibitions, including the Holburne Museum of Art in Bath. The artist was recognized by 1929 when Basil Long mentioned two works by V that sold at auction in 1926 and 1928, both signed “V” and one dating from around 1778. Since then, miniatures signed by or attributed to V have appeared regularly at auction. The artist’s work is distinctive and characterized by unnaturally large…
The gold locket this miniature is housed in is not likely to be original to the painting.
Read the full account in the museum source.
