Portrait of a woman

The woman is portrayed in half-length pose, her head is slightly turned to the right and she looks straight at the viewer. Her face is pale, lightly powdered; she has big well-defined eyes. She has medium length hair, pinned back. Around her neck is a tight double string of pearls. The figure wears a silk blue dress with a large oval neckline and tight sleeves. At the neckline of the dress, white lace is visible. A bouquet of colourful flowers was pinned on the woman's left breast. A white scarf is placed over her left shoulder.

A painting created by an imitator of the Italian Rococo painter, miniaturist and pastellist, Rosalba Giovanna Carriera (1673-1757). She was a pupil of Giuseppe Dimantini and Antonio Balestra. She worked in Italy, France, Austria and Germany. In 1705 she was admitted to the Accademia di San Luca in Rome, in 1720 to the Accademia degli Incamminati in Bologna and the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture in Paris. From 1703, influenced by her brother-in-law Antonio Pellegrini, she began drawing using pastels. From 1746 she suffered from melancholy and stopped painting due to an eye disorder. She portrayed mainly European aristocracy and rulers, including Augustus III. She also painted allegorical representations of Venetian ladies, e.g. as seasons. Large collections of her pastel miniatures can be found in the Old Masters Picture Gallery in Dresden (about 70 paintings) and in the Ca' Rezzonico and Gallerie dell'Accademia in Venice.

Yulia Dushka