Portrait of a Woman
A woman in a white dress holding a single rose, a palm-sized portrait miniature painted on ivory in Napoleonic-era Paris. Full commentary ↓
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Portrait of a Woman is an ivory or bone object by Jacques Delaplace (ca. 1805–10) in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
In the pictureWithin a gold frame, a woman with her black curls pinned up wears a white dress with a green shawl and holds a pink rose. Behind her are trees and a cloudy sky, and a blue ornament is set in her hair. The original is an ivory plaque 5.5 cm wide, much smaller than it appears on screen.
BackgroundWhite dresses with the waistline just below the bust were the fashion of Napoleonic Empire France. Ivory miniatures were given to a loved one ahead of a marriage or a parting, and sometimes a lock of hair was placed behind the frame. Jacques Delaplace was a Parisian painter who specialized in such miniatures; who this woman was has not been recorded.
Puzzle tipPlacing the gold frame pieces around the border first narrows the space inside. Fit the face, the white dress, the green shawl and the pink rose pieces in that order, and fill in the brown trees and blue sky of the background last. 48 pieces is about right.
- Artist
- French, 1767–after 1831
- Classification
- Miniatures
- Medium
- Ivory extended by card
- Dimensions
- 2 1/2 x 2 1/4 in. (64 x 55 mm)
- Credit line
- Bequest of Margaret Crane Hurlbut, 1933
Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art ↗
In these collections: Flower Painting Puzzles
Stories about this work
- Faces Inside a Pocket Watch Lid: Four Portrait Miniatures on Ivory
Portraits set in pocket watch lids and pendants, or pressed into a departing lover's hand. Reading four ivory miniatures from Napoleonic France.
