What a beauty she is! It's fascinating, isn't it, that so much personality and detail can be painted in 5/8", which is the height of her beautiful face. This woman, fashioned in hair and gown of c. 1770s, but I think painted later perhaps as a souvenir taken from an earlier painting, shows her playing a mandolin. Always fun to have portraits with musical instruments, sewing or writing tools or personal objects to help define the sitter. The painting is superb, perfectly preserved under original slightly convex heavy cover glass and in original frame. Full measurements noted on photos.
Very good to excellent condition for age and type, this old treasure has been very well treasured, as you can see. One wonders if it's a souvenir portrait based on the sealed backing which is another little painting. Does anyone recognize the skyline in that colored drawing? Since it has long been sealed, I did not open this one up for further inspection, in case there might be an artist's signature or something more within.
