This exquisite double portrait of a mother and her child is a touching and intimate portrayal of a mother’s affection. Female beauty was much prized in the 19th Century. For the first time, large numbers of pictures were painted whose sole raison d’źtre was a depiction of such beauty; not so much in the form of specific portraiture, but more as a homage to feminine beauty in its own right and many artists worked in this genre. This portrait can be dated to c.1830 as the combination of sloping shoulders and the very large gathered sleeves that cover most of the arm (narrowing to a small cuff at the wrist) is quite distinctive of the day dresses of the 1830s. During this period the pleated panels of fabric that trim the gown around the bust and shoulders, and the method of gathering fullness in the large sleeves was popular. Up to 1836 the waist was accentuated with a round waistband - as in the present portrait – and then it was replaced with a pointed bodice (and the sleeves wer...