Pair Of 19th C Portraits On Canvas:
A sensitively depicted couple in formal dress face each other in two oil on canvas profile portraits. Left, the man’s face and lightly thinning hair are rendered in painstaking detail with a gentle, feathery stroke. The stroke becomes freer as the eye moves toward his cravat, which is gesturally dashed in. He wears a high collared black coat, and a highly polished chair back is visible behind him. In the right hand portrait, the woman’s face is slightly more conventionally treated, with rouged lips and a sharply defined brow bone. Her sheer silk headscarf has been jotted in in the same fashion as the cravat. The couple’s wealth is on display here, in her deep red shawl with its subtle gold key embroidery and her reflective chemisette. The strict regency chair backs and the reserved tone of the portrait pair suggests a wish to convey a sense of gravitas and respectability on the part of the sitters.

The two images are well preserved and show very little surface damage. Extant frames in gilded wood were added at a later date. Slight fading around the upper right of the visible portraits indicate that the original display also featured an oval shape, and that the reframe shifted or increased the area of canvas exposed.
19" X 17" X 2"
$600 - $900
Shipping:
We are unable to ship this item. Please contact a third party shipper for a quote. Please be sure and include your shipping address, a description of the lot, including any dimensions, the speed at which you will need it shipped and the amount you would like to insure it for. You may also hire your own third party shipper, they must be willing to pick the item up from us. Please contact us for a list of recommended shippers.

The absence of a condition statement does not imply that the lot is in perfect condition or completely free from wear and tear, imperfections or the effects of aging. Condition requests can be obtained via email or by telephone. Any condition statement given, as a courtesy to a client, is only an opinion and should not be treated as a statement of fact. Converse Auctions shall have no responsibility for any error or omission.
High resolution images from this auction can be seen by visiting: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/458fmgguobwuxvd/AACMD1V8nDPFeX_8z5VLT-SZa?dl=0