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Portrait of a Young Woman

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Portrait of a Young Woman

Artist Horace Vernet (French, 1789-1863)
Place of OriginFrance
Date1831
DimensionsPainting: 48 7/8 × 39 1/8 in. (124.1 × 99.4 cm)
Frame: 60 × 49 3/4 × 5 in. (152.4 × 126.4 × 12.7 cm)
MediumOil on canvas
ClassificationPaintings
Credit LineGift of Mr. and Mrs. Edward H. Alexander
Object number
1982.131
On View
Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 31
Label TextThe woman in this portrait by Horace Vernet sits nestled in the landscape, almost merging with it. Her white dress contrasts strikingly with the dark foliage. By linking the woman with the landscape in such a physical way, Vernet expressed the sensibilities of the Romantic movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The Romantics saw expressive emotion in Nature and humanity’s relationship to it. Vernet includes details that may suggest aspects of the woman’s personality and circumstances. Her white muslin and pink ribbon and belt evoke girlish innocence. She may, however, be engaged to be married: the violets she holds traditionally symbolized faithfulness, while juniper (the tree that seems to engulf her) could signify chastity. Vernet came from a family of artists. His grandfather, Claude-Joseph Vernet (1714–1789), a celebrated landscape artist, painted the canvas Evening, also in the Museum’s collection.Exhibition HistoryVersailles, France, Palace of Versailles, Horace Vernet, Nov. 14, 2023 - Mar. 17, 2024.
Evening
Claude-Joseph Vernet
1753
Rider and Walker
Horace Vernet
about 1830
Route de Naples
Horace Vernet
about 1830
Scene on the Shore
Horace Vernet
about 1830
Leicester and Amy Robsart
Horace Vernet
about 1830
The Young Pedlar
James Brown
1850
Young Lady with a Bird and a Dog
John Singleton Copley
1767

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