The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 19, 2024

Portrait of a Woman at a Harpsichord

Portrait of a Woman at a Harpsichord

c. 1788
(French, 1751–1831)
France, 18th century
watercolor on ivory in a 19th-century stamped gold and gilt metal frame
Diameter: 7.3 cm (2 7/8 in.); Diameter of frame: 9.3 cm (3 11/16 in.)
The Edward B. Greene Collection 1942.1139
Location: not on view

Description

We do not know the identity of this elegantly dressed woman who plays a sonata on the harpsichord. There are two copies of this miniature that are attributed to other artists (Peter Adolphe Hall and Marie Christine Campana), and both identify the sitter as Sophie Arnould, a highly acclaimed French soprano. Dumont was fond of using objects in the space around the sitter to express her character—a common practice in portraits—so it is possible that this woman was a musician. To play a musical instrument well was considered an essential feminine accomplishment for an aristocratic woman during the eighteenth century, and like her fashionable dress, communicates the sitter's grace and charm to the viewer. This miniature was probably painted around 1788, on the eve of the French revolution, and the year that Sophie retired from the stage at the age of 48. Unknown sitters are oftentimes later identified as persons who were well-known or fashionable during the period when the work was painted, and it is difficult to know conclusively.
  • Cleveland Museum of Art. Portrait Miniatures; The Edward B. Greene Collection. Cleveland: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1951. Reproduced: plate XXVIII, no. 60; Mentioned: p. 34 archive.org
  • Disembodied: Portrait Minatures and their Contemporary Relatives. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 10, 2013-February 16, 2014).
    Main European Rotation (Gallery 202), July 18, 2011 - January 30, 2012.
    Intimate Images: Portrait Miniatures from Europe and America. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 26-October 17, 1993).
    Four Centuries of Miniature Painting, New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1950. January 18-March 19, 1950.
  • {{cite web|title=Portrait of a Woman at a Harpsichord|url=false|author=François Dumont|year=c. 1788|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1942.1139