French school; second half of the 17th century.

French school; second half of the seventeenth century.
"Portrait of a lady".
Oil on copper.
Measurements: 14 x 11 cm; 18 x 15 cm (frame).
Female portrait of French school, made in the second half of the seventeenth century, which fully responds to the codes of courtly and bourgeois portraiture of the European Baroque. The work, an oil on copper, represents a young lady bust-length, arranged on a dark and neutral background that concentrates the attention on the face and the contained gesture of the figure. The unusual polygonal format of the support reinforces the intimate and precious character of the piece, underlining its condition as an object destined to a private sphere rather than to the public representation of power.
The lady appears elegantly attired in a dress of light tones and soft violet hues, adorned with lace and discreet jewelry, pearl necklace and earrings, which allude to her social position without excessive ostentation. The hand, placed on the chest, introduces a gesture of recollection and delicacy that adds a psychological nuance to the representation, distancing it from the ceremonial rigidity and bringing it closer to an idealized image of virtue, modesty and sensitivity, values especially appreciated in the French court culture of the 17th century.
This portrait is part of the French tradition influenced by both academic classicism and the intimate sensibility inherited from Flemish and Dutch painting. In contrast to the state portrait, intended to exalt power and hierarchy, this work responds to a more private typology, focused on the identity, decorum and moral elegance of the individual. The lady is not presented as an identifiable historical character, but as a feminine ideal in accordance with the social and aesthetic values of her time.