Italian school; second third of the XVIII century.

Italian school; second third of the eighteenth century.
"Portrait of a lady".
Oil on canvas. Relined.
Presents inscription on the letter.
Measurements: 98 x 80 cm; 112 x 93 cm (frame).
Half-length portrait of a middle-aged lady, who wears a sumptuous costume with wide neckline adorned with white lace, as shown in the folded sleeves and in the area of the corset. The smooth qualities of the skin and the slight flush of the cheeks harmonize with the rest, leaving no room for detailing with precise pictorial touches. The dark background enhances the figure and the elegance of her attire. The lady looks directly at the viewer with a regal and haughty attitude, although she is smiling and holding a document in her hand, thus conveying to the viewer that she is an educated lady.
The portrait became during this period the protagonist genre par excellence of Italian painting, as a consequence of the new social structures that were established in the Western world during this century, embodying the maximum expression of the transformation of taste and mentality of the new clientele, emerged between the nobility and the wealthy gentry, who would take the reins of history in this period. While official circles gave preponderance to other artistic genres, such as history painting, and the incipient collecting encouraged the profusion of costume paintings, portraiture monopolized the demand for painting destined for the more private sphere, as a reflection of the value of the individual in the new society. This genre embodies the permanent presence of the image of its protagonists, to be enjoyed in the intimacy of a studio, in the daily warmth of a family cabinet or presiding over the main rooms of the house.