This beautiful portrait was painted circa 1725 and is a fine example of the English eighteenth century portrait style. The artist has chosen to depict the lady in a simple blue silk dress and without jewelry or a background, thus allowing the viewer to concentrate solely on the beauty of the sitter. The effect of this restrained manner creates a sense of understated elegance.The portrait genre was valued particularly highly in English society. Neither landscapes nor allegorical pictures were ever priced so highly at exhibitions and in the trade as depictions of people, from the highest aristocracy to scholars, writers, poets and statesmen. With the rich colouring and lyrical characterisation, these works are representative of the archetypal English portrait and is are very appealing examples of British portraiture.Contained within a fine gilded antique frame.Jonathan Richardson the Elder (1667-1745) was one of the most influential figures in the visual arts of 18th century England and also an accomplished poet. Richardson has been described as ''''the ablest of the painters who came to prominence during the last decade of Kneller''s life and who flourished after his death''''. A pupil of Riley, he went on to teach both George Knapton and Thomas Hudson, and published writings on painting that called for imagination and characterisation rather than a mere mechanical reproduction of physiognomy.He amassed one of the great collections of Old Master drawings of the age. He was considered by some one of the three foremost painters of his time. By 1705 he was commanding prices for his paintings that were comparable to those of Godfrey Kneller, the most fashionable portrait painter in England at the time. George Vertue placed Richardson, along with Kneller, Michael Dahl and Charles Jervas in the elite group of portraitists who led the field in ''great business and esteem amongst people of quality'' (Vertue, Notebooks, 3.138). He painted a wide range of ...