Lady with Flower Basket

This unknown lady was portrayed while arranging a bunch of flowers. She is turning her face to the observer as if she wanted him to interpret her unusual choice consisting of poppies, roses, lilac and red clover blossoms. The roses probably symbolise the lady’s love for the addressee of the miniature whereas the poppies suggest her fragility. We are left in the dark about the significance of the lilac and clover blossoms.¹ Huet-Villiers showed great skill in capturing the tenderness and sensitivity in his sitter’s unaffected facial expression, although it is only her eyes that reflect her delicate soul. He preferred grey and bluish green shades to stark contrasts, creating a somewhat intangible atmosphere. Both portraits by Huet-Villiers in the Tansey Collection were created at the very beginning of the 19th century and still breathe the nature-loving sensitivity propagated by Rousseau.
B. P./J. S. O.