English: Artist Unknown

Post Mortem Portrait of a Late Georgian Era Lady Lying in Repose

English
circa 1830
Artist unknown

3 1/2 x 2 3/4 inches (sight)

Depicted is a beautiful, Late Georgian Era lady, painted shortly after death. She rests peacefully on a plush pillow, nestled behind green privacy drapes. Her beauty is preserved as if for eternity -- her skin soft and youthful, her lips inviting. No doubt, this last image of the deceased was a treasured memento of the individual (most likeliy her husband) who commissioned her portrait

The best of art engages the viewer or evokes emotion. This portrait does both. One cannot help but wonder who the young lady was and how she died. What must it have been like, too, for the painter, sitting in her presence, wanting to capture the best image and preserve the best memory possible for his or her patron?