The Pink Wrap

Small oil portraits painted on copper, as this work is, were often commissioned as copies from old master portraits to create more portable likenesses. Shown in half-length, this young lady wears a white silk dress trimmed with blue ribbon, a pink shawl draped over her arms. Her hair has been drawn back in a knot that is decorated with a circlet of tiny flowers.

Although the sitter and artist are both unknown, the painting has been influenced by one the leading portraitists of the day, Sir Godfrey Kneller (1666-1736), and so may have been painted by John Zachary Kneller who was known to paint diminutive copies of his brother’s works.

Housed in a pressed brass frame (unglazed), the portrait has inevitably darkened with age and so would benefit from a light clean. It is nonetheless an attractive period piece that displays well.