Portrait Of A Lady With Lace Ruff And Red Shawl, France, Louis-philippe Period C.1830

Portrait of a Lady with Lace Ruff and Red Shawl, France, Louis-Philippe Period, circa 1830

Oil on canvas

Dimensions: 27.6 x 24 in. (70 x 61 cm)

Half-length portrait of an elegant lady with chestnut hair arranged in abundant ringlets and held in place by a braided golden ribbon.

She wears a dark dress with lustrous, silky reflections, adorned with richly decorated puffed sleeves and an ample lace ruff inspired by historical fashions. A long gold chain ending in a cross-shaped pendant completes her attire, while several rings are carefully rendered on her hands.

The costume — ringlet hairstyle, Medici-style lace ruff, voluminous sleeves and the cut of the dress — suggests a date around 1830, during the Louis-Philippe period. The vivid red shawl, enriched with black and golden decorative motifs, introduces a striking note of colour alongside the deep blues and greys of the costume.

The quality of the painting is particularly evident in the treatment of different materials: the transparency of the lace, the sheen of the fabric, the carefully modelled curls and the softness of the flesh tones.

An old inscription mentions the name of Léon Cogniet (1794–1880, Paris). This indication, transmitted by tradition, should not be considered a documented attribution, though it remains an interesting historical reference and is therefore worth recording.

A delicate cleaning carried out by our conservator removed an oxidised varnish and revived the original chromatic harmonies. The blues of the dress, the reds and golds of the shawl, and the flesh tones have regained much of their original freshness and luminosity.

Very well preserved.