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Portrait of a Woman, Said to Be Lady Sophia Boyle by Anne Mee

Anne Mee · 1790-01-01

This is the 'Portrait of a Woman, Said to Be Lady Sophia Boyle,' painted by Anne Mee in 1796. It is no bigger than a pocket watch. At the Met, it sits in a drawer with dozens of other miniatures, each one made for one person, to be held in one person's hand.

Look at how Mee leaves the background completely empty. The powdered hair pushes high and loose, dating this exactly to the early 1790s around the French Revolution, and the translucent fichu at her neckline is rendered in watercolor on ivory, a surface that lets no mistake be wiped away. The real life of the object is in that metal loop: it was worn on a chain or ribbon, kept close.

Anne Mee worked as a professional miniaturist in London, supporting herself by painting the fashionable women of her day. Her sitters included the Prince of Wales's circle, and she was known for a flattering but clear-eyed touch. This subject, possibly Lady Sophia Boyle, is shown with a reserved, almost neutral expression. A face designed to travel.

Think about what it meant to give someone a picture of your face in 1796, before photography, to be worn against their chest. What did Sophia hope the person holding this would remember?

Details

Small enough to wear in a locket.
Small enough to wear in a locket.
That ring at the top is how it hung from a chain, against the skin.
That ring at the top is how it hung from a chain, against the skin.
Her name, the museum believes, was Lady Sophia Boyle.
Her name, the museum believes, was Lady Sophia Boyle.
Look at her mouth.
Look at her mouth.
She was a woman making a living from the faces of the aristocracy.
She was a woman making a living from the faces of the aristocracy.
Transcript

This is a love token. Small enough to wear in a locket. That ring at the top is how it hung from a chain, against the skin. Her name, the museum believes, was Lady Sophia Boyle. Look at her mouth. It is not quite a smile. Anne Mee painted this in 1796, on a sliver of ivory. She was a woman making a living from the faces of the aristocracy.