Portrait of a Lady of Quality circa 1735
The lady wears a sumptuous French-style dress, with a bodice adorned with a richly decorated stomacher. The stomacher, the centerpiece of the dress and a symbol of refinement, is a removable panel that closes the bodice at the bust. Attached with clasps, lacing, or sometimes even fixed by stitches on the dress already put on, this piece is here abundantly decorated with delicate embroidery.
On her head, she wears a tricorn, a hat with three raised brims, emblematic of the 18th century, particularly prized by the Austrian aristocracy. Adorned with feathers and pearls, this tricorn, often masculine in representations of the time, is here transformed into a feminine accessory, emphasizing the status and sophisticated taste of the lady. This mixture of influences, masculine and feminine, was then a symbol of the avant-garde fashion of the European courts.
Circa 1730
French School
Height: 80 cm
Width: 62.5 cm
