One of my favourite paintings - it is evident that this one was painted with inspiration, sensitivity and with grace. It depict a young woman whose right arm is slightly stretched out. Although we cannot see her hand, she must clearly be holding a paint brush, which she is directing toward a canvas on an easel. Could it be a self portrait, or is a fellow artist painting her?Without wanting to speculate too much, I began to wonder who the woman represented might be and started thinking of the Morisot sisters, Berthe and Edma. I do think there is a passing resemblance of the woman in the picture and Edma''s portrait of her sister, of which I am attaching a photo for reference. It is lovely to see images of women artists in the 19th Century at work. The Fine Arts Academy were forbidden to women until 1897. In order to learn, the Morisot sisters for instance copied the great masters at the Louvre. Their parents made them build a workshop/studio annexed to their house in Passy, as an encouragement. The two women, just like the artist who painted the present picture, recognised themselves in the ideal of painting what we see and not what should be, of capturing the impression of a moment. Our oil on canvas measures 44.5 x 36 cm an is unsigned. Painted ca in the 1870s, it was relined and put on to a new stretcher probably some 80 years ago. Slight old stretcher marks are visible to the sides. The overall size with a period leaf gold frame is 58 x 47.5 cm.Nous parlons fran�ais, und wir sprechen auch Deutsch! Paintings may be viewed in Norwich and in Paris, as well as in London and Cambridge by appointment. Please contact us if you would like further details and images of an artwork.Height is 44.5cm (17.5inches)
Width is 36cm (14.2inches)
Depth is 1cm (0.4inches)