3-002-752 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Portrait of a Noblewoman, c1750. Turning her gaze towards the spectator with one hand resting on her hip, this noblewoman has a stately, matronly appearance that is intended to express personal discipline and dignity. Her lavish costume - with a scarf tied to her hair, a brocade dress set with pearls and a feather, and jeweled pendants - communicates her social status, as does the column, suggestive of a palatial setting, a compositional device developed during the 16th century to communicate aristocratic status.