Juliana (Howard) , Baroness Petre

Maker Thomas Gainsborough (British, 1727-1788)

SitterSitter: Juliana (Howard), Baroness Petre (British, 1769 - 1833)

Collections

ClassificationsPAINTINGS

Date1788

Mediumoil on canvas

Dimensions88 3/4 x 57 1/4 in. (225.4 x 145.4 cm.)

DescriptionStanding center, full-length, as if advancing to the right, her face turned to the left front. Her right hand hangs by her side, her left holds the end of her shawl away from her, at shoulder level. Large black hat, curly, powdered hair falling in ringlets on her shoulders; white muslin fichu, oyster-gray bodice and panniers with silver lining; light-blue sash and underskirt. A black, lace-edged shawl falls over her left elbow and passes behind her waist and over the right wrist. In the background, a grove of silver birches, blue sky at top, and a pool on the right.

Credit LineThe Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens

Label TextThe Huntington has a distinguished collection of paintings by Thomas Gainsborough, one of the greatest portrait painters of 18th-century Britain. In this work, he presents Lady Petre, a glamorous teenage newlywed, renowned for her style and beauty. She wears a striking blue petticoat, black fringed shawl, and oversized black hat. Gainsborough accentuated the slenderness of her waist by giving a pointed center to the sash wrapped around it, and by amplifying the contrasting fullness of her skirt.

This portrait, one of the last Gainsborough painted before his death, features some of his most dazzling brushwork. Lilting arabesques of yellow paint convey the transparency of Lady Petre’s gauzy scarf, while energetic slashes create shimmering highlights. The vigorously painted landscape echoes the effects of the drapery, with streaks of light glimmering amid stormy clouds and dense foliage.

Status

On view

Object number11.25