18th C French Miniature Portrait Girl w Lute Music Musician c. 1780 s

Antiques : Portrait Miniature : French : 18th C

 

French school, Louis XVI period (1774–1792). A delightful subject hand-painted in bright watercolors with splendid detail and delicate lines, a young woman in traditional dress, with a lute! Her attire is reminiscent of Marie Antoinette's pleasure life at the Le Petit Hameau (The Little Hamlet) on the grounds of Versailles. There she and her attendants dressed as shepherdesses and milkmaids, while they acted out "the simple life" in nature, milking dairy cows and conducting other activities associated with rural domestic life, which symbolized the period's cultural values of virtue and simplicity... sort of a hippie phase ala eighteenth century!

Beautiful indigo blue, iron red, green and lacy white - hues and color values all exceptionally balanced... nothing left to chance here! A beauty, this one!!

The painting is covered with glass and enclosed in a shiny gilt metal frame with beaded rim and a bow ribbon top typical of the period. (The frame is a lovely, lighter gold than in the images, due to the need to bring up the colors in the painting which were obscured by the glare of the glass.) The portrait is protected in a very nice, modern, velvet-lined, faux leather case. Everything here is ready to star in a special someone's collection. You will be very pleased with this portrait, I am certain!

Perfect Condition!! This painting has been especially well cared for. The colors are still bright; every finely drawn line is clearly visible and there is not a blemish to be found. Since I had to photograph through the glass, there is a shadowy glare to contend with in the photos. The splendid details are actually as sharp as can be. I have heightened the contrast in a couple of images, to try to reveal the tiny details. Please click to see the large images and the measurements. Enjoy!

Item ID: 0909-03