Henrietta Read, later Henrietta Meares
Maker
Thomas Gainsborough
(British, 1727-1788)
SitterSitter:
Henrietta Read, later Henrietta Meares
(British, born 1760)
Collections
ClassificationsPAINTINGS
Dateca.1777
Mediumoil on canvas
Dimensions89 1/4 x 56 3/8 in. (226.7 x 143.2 cm.)
DescriptionStanding center, full-length, full-front, the head three-quarters right. She leans her left elbow on a plinth, the hand hanging down; her right hand rests on the left forearm. Her feet crossed, the left in front poised on the toe. Dark, lightly powdered hair, dressed high with a gauze spangled scarf; curls fall on the shoulders. Dark-hazel eyes and brows. She wears a low-necked dress of palest collar. At her breast a gold locket with cameo or portrait. Pale-silvery shoes with gold fringe. Background of stormy sky; tree trunks left and right behind figure. Right, a plinth with a large vase, convolvulus, and foliage.
Credit LineThe Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens
Label TextIn the mid-18th century, British artists developed a distinctive type of portraiture known today as the Grand Manner. Like this work, Grand Manner portraits were large in size, and meant to demonstrate the importance of a family’s lineage. Many were hung in the formal rooms and hallways of great British houses. Henrietta Read’s grandfather, a wealthy brewer, commissioned Gainsborough to paint this portrait – as well as those of other family members – as part of a dynastic display. In a pose that recalls 17th-century court portraits, Henrietta drapes part of her lilac gown over a stone plinth, providing a cushioned support for her elbow and revealing her white silk petticoat. The pink, cream, and charcoal of her delicate gown admirably complement her complexion and dark hair color, and provide a striking foil to her bold black eyebrows and dark brown eyes.Status
On viewObject number24.2
William Blake
1807
Object number: 000.10
Martin Archer Shee
ca.1804
Object number: 20.4