Portrait of a Gentleman, Rosalba Carriera (1740)
In this portrait the gentleman is wearing a brown chamber robe, a colour much in vogue in the eighteenth century, over an embroidered silk coat and a white scarf.
The large filmy wig seems to have just been powdered, an impression rendered by the masterly use of pastel, a technique in which Rosalba Carriera was a great virtuoso.
The Venetian Rosalba Carriera is considered one of the most representative figures of eighteenth-century European portraiture. Cosmopolitan and sought after for her extraordinary abilities, Rosalba was appreciated by all the connoisseurs and sovereigns of the time, including Louis XV. The artist took to the highest levels the very fine pastel technique, which was perfect for rendering the complexion of the graceful powdery visages of the Enlightenment era.
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