Lady on Sofa with Red Cushions

Most portrait miniatures were created for private purposes, which left more flexibility for the choice of pose and clothing then there was for large-format portraits. Yet the type of representation in this picture appears only rarely.The young lady rests on a sofa with luxuriant cushions,¹ smiles at the observer and holds her bare breast with her left hand. The rich interior with contrasting fabrics, and the lady’s seductive posture, suggest that the sitter was a courtesan in the apartment furnished by her lovers. The likeness reminds one of Dumas’ novel “The Lady of the Camellias”written roughly ten years later; it was probably painted for a lover as a memory of happy times. Vernet was one of the most artistically demanding miniaturists of the 19th century. His poses are exceptionally varied, and sometimes portraits containing several figures are inventively and unusually composed, and must have presented the artist with ever new difficulties. The ladies in Vernet’s works are often intentionally seductive. They embody the artist’s aim of painting his model not only accurately, but also with gripping emotion.

B. P.