This fine mid-19th-century French portrait depicts a lady wearing a richly embroidered dress with ‘leg-o-mutton’ sleeves and exquisite earrings. Stylistically, it resembles comparable works by Claude-Marie Dubufe (1790-1864).

Her demure, slightly coy and self-effacing expression is juxtaposed with her elaborately crafted gown. It’s a masterpiece, almost certainly designed in Paris, and intended to be admired at a host of lavish soirees. She’s possibly a ‘debutante’.

During the late 1830s, dresses were ostentatious and remarkably puffy. Sleeves, as we see here, were referred to as ‘leg-o-mutton’ and enlarged at the elbow - while waists were tucked in and corseted. Ladies were considered as retiring creatures, almost doll-like in appearance, elegant, and floral.

Her hair, in contrast, is rather sober and probably influenced by the ascent of a young Queen Victoria in the United Kingdom.

Held in a beautiful 19th-century gilt frame with extensive rocaille decoration.

Medium: Oil on canvas
Overall size: 31” x 35” / 69cm x 89cm
Year of creation: c. 1840
Provenance: Private collection, France.
Condition: Cleaned. Canvas relined. Faint stretcher mark. Craquelure throughout. The paint layer is stable. Frame with various marks and showing its age.
Our reference: BRV2066