On-line gallery
- Reference number
- P03250
- Author
- Paret y Alcázar, Luis (Spanish)
- Title
- María de las Nieves Micaela Fourdinier, the Painter's Wife
- Chronology
- 1782-1785
- Technique
- Support
- Measures
- 37 cm x 28 cm
- School
- Theme
- Shown
- Yes
- Entrance
- COMPRA
- Procedence
- Acquisition, 1974
The painter's wife is shown with a luxurious dress and a complicated hairdo that includes a small bouquet of flowers similar to the floral paintings this artist made some years before (P1042 and P1043). She sits on a chair, in three-quarters and holding a music box, and her appearance evokes a melancholy atmosphere. This sensation of distance is reinforced by the fact that we see her through a window frame adorned with rose tendrils —symbolizing love— and a Greek inscription. All of this frames the figure in a sort of trompe l'oeuil. Paret masterfully unfolds a variety of different manners of painting to distinguish between the softness of his wife's hair —with extremely fine brushstrokes— and the rigidity of her white satin dress, capturing its highlights with expressive touches.
Location on the map
