Lady with Fan

The female artist Perrin, who painted this expressive portrait in 1784, is virtually unknown today. According to current research, her picture in the Tansey Collection is the only one that bears this signature.¹ It shows a marked affinity with the works of Campana, and it cannot be ruled out that the artist received tuition in miniature painting from him. The way of painting the hair in transparent colour with dotted shades and scratched bright streaks is a distinguishing mark of the Turinese miniaturist’s technique. Even the pose could be from Campana; the sitter rests her arm on a small table. Mme Perrin, however, did not idealise the facial features, rendering them instead in their almost masculine acerbity. Feminine elegance, on the other hand, is expressed by the gilded armchair, the dainty table and the lady’s light blue gown.

Beneath her elbow the sitter seems to hide a letter.She looks at the observer provocatively. Holding her closed fan between her index finger and middle finger, she presents it to a fictitious person opposite. This detail was not a coincidence, but conveyed a hidden message to the observer: “Do you love me?” was silently asked in this way. Exchanging confidences by the position of the fan was one of the social amusements of the 18th century.²

B. P.