Pair Of Portraits Of Children, Circle Of Nathaniel Dance-holland (1735-1811)

Portraits of a young boy and girl, circa 1770, painted by an artist in the circle of Nathaniel Dance Holland (1735 - 1811). The elegant young sitters are both dressed in white and depicted half-length within an oval cartouche. With their sparkling eyes, flushed cheeks, and rosebud lips, they open a sensitive gaze to captivate the viewer, nearly 250 years after their creation. When these portraits were painted, the perception of childhood (and the role of children's clothing) was undergoing significant transformations. In the early 18th century, it was common for children to wear clothing very similar to their parents'. From the 1760s onward, children's fashion began to favor lighter fabrics, both in weight and color. The girl wears a white embroidered dress, fastened at the back. This garment is made of a fine white fabric (linen or muslin) and is sheer enough to allow a pink underlay to show through, giving it a very subtle coloring. She wears a ruffled bonnet, and a green silk ribbon is barely visible behind her head. A single loop rests on her shoulder. The other model's dress is slightly less structured and the shape of her bodice is less pronounced. The absence of a bonnet suggests that this is a boy, probably the girl's brother. His simple dress has darts at the sleeves, allowing it to be lowered if necessary as he grew. Washable white clothes were not only practical but also indicative of a state of childlike innocence, recently identified by leading 18th-century Enlightenment thinkers as a distinctive state and stage of development. Both portraits are in excellent condition and are ready to be admired in their original frames, which retain their original gilding. I am very grateful to Jacqui Ansell, costume historian and former senior lecturer at Christie's Education, for the detailed information and analysis she has provided on fashion and costume. Oil on canvas: 62.5 x 52 cm. Framed: 73 x 62 cm.