1794
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Dominant colour
Portrait of Catherine Grey, Lady Manners is a 1794 unspecified by Thomas Lawrence, a British Romanticism work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
This painting shows Catherine Grey, Lady Manners dressed as the goddess Juno. A peacock rests at her feet. The background is dark, making her pale skin and bright dress stand out. Lawrence didn’t care what Lady Manners thought. He painted her as Juno anyway. The colors are bold and the brushwork looks loose and quick. It feels alive. If you like this portrait’s style, check out Thomas Lawrence (British, 1769–1830).
The Irish poet Lady Manners rejected as “unflattering” this portrait representing her as the goddess Juno, symbolized here by the peacock. Thomas Lawrence exhibited the painting at the Royal Academy in 1794 with the label “to be disposed of [sold],” but it was still in the artist’s collection when he died. Though it offended Lady Manners, the painting displays all the hallmarks of Lawrence’s flamboyant style:dazzling, fluid brushwork and an innovative use of unconventional colors that helped secure his role as the most fashionable portrait painter in turn-of-the-century Britain.
Catherine was an Irish poet who wrote of longing to escape the fashionable world.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Sir Thomas Lawrence (13 April 1769 – 7 January 1830) was an English painter who served as the fourth president of the Royal Academy.
See the richer artist page
