Traces across Time: Investigating an Unfinished Female Portrait by Sir Joshua Reynolds

A portrait by Sir Joshua Reynolds of an unidentified female sitter depicts only a face and a diamond breast jewel. Once owned by John Ruskin and then by Kenneth Clark, the portrait offers an opportunity to examine assumptions we make when discussing historic portraiture. What may we infer from the c...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inInterfaces (Dijon. En ligne) Vol. 51
Main Author Pointon, Marcia
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Interfaces 20.07.2024
Université de Bourgogne
Subjects
diamant
pigment
Reynolds (Joshua)
Ruskin (John)
Schaumburg-Lippe
transparence
Reynolds (Joshua)
diamond
diamant
Clark (Kenneth)
transparency
pigment
Waterhouse (Ellis Kirkham)
transparence
Ruskin (John)
Schaumburg-Lippe
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Summary:A portrait by Sir Joshua Reynolds of an unidentified female sitter depicts only a face and a diamond breast jewel. Once owned by John Ruskin and then by Kenneth Clark, the portrait offers an opportunity to examine assumptions we make when discussing historic portraiture. What may we infer from the collectors who were drawn to this enigmatic object? How do judgements about sitters’ identities change? What is meant by finish? How might traces of ownership of a particular work - what we call ‘provenance’ - contribute to our understanding of the work itself? What can we tell from the material of a painting, that is, from its pigments and support, about how an artist ran his studio? How might accessories determine meaning? I disentangle and identify some of the assumptions taken for granted when discussing portraiture while at the same time re-evaluating a disputed and neglected work.
ISSN:1164-6225
2647-6754
DOI:10.4000/122dt