Circle of ROSALBA CARRIERA (Venice, 1673- 1757); XVIII century.

Circle of ROSALBA CARRIERA (Venice, 1673- 1757): XVIII century.
"Portrait of a lady".
Pastel on paper.
Measurements: 55 x 40 cm; 66 x 51 cm (frame).
The composition responds to a simple and refined scheme: the young woman appears represented in bust, slightly turned, on neutral background, which concentrates the attention in the grace of her face and in the luminous vibration of the flesh tones. She wears a flowing gown, treated with loose and powdered touches, which exposes one of her shoulders in a gesture of elegant naturalness. This resource, frequent in rococo portraiture, does not seek ostentation but suggestion: the charm lies in the lightness, in the atmosphere and in the capture of an idealized but intimate beauty.
The technique of pastel on paper, which brings a great subtlety in the transition of light and shadow, is one of the main arguments for the attribution. In addition, in the collection of the Louvre Museum there is a piece entitled "Portrait of a young woman with hairstyle adorned with white bouquet" (INV-4799) whose authorship to Carriera has been confirmed by Neil Jeffares (Dictionary of pastellists before 1800, London, 2006, p. 114).
Carriera was a pioneer in elevating the pastel to the category of great portraiture, exploiting its possibilities to model flesh tones with an almost tactile softness and to create effects of psychological immediacy. In the present work, the same dissolution of the contour in the light, the pearly chromatism and the light brushstroke that avoids rigid drawing in favor of a spontaneous appearance can be noticed. The light range, dominated by pearly tones and pink hues, reinforces the sensation of freshness and sophistication characteristic of the Venetian environment.
Rosalba Carriera was a Venetian Rococo painter. In her youth she specialized in miniature portraits. Later, Carriera would become known for her pastel portraits, helping to popularize this medium in 18th century Europe. She is remembered as one of the most successful female artists of the time. Carriera was born in Venice, the daughter of Andrea Carriera, a lawyer, and Alba Foresti, an embroiderer and lace maker. The reasons that led her to found her own artistic workshop are unknown. One of her early biographers, Pierre-Jean Mariette, suggested that when the lace industry began to falter, Carriera had to find a new means of supporting herself and her family. Carriera began painting miniatures for the lids of snuff boxes and was one of the first painters to use ivory instead of vellum as a medium for the miniatures. Soon she also began to paint pastel portraits. Among the portraits of her early period are those of Maximilian II of Bavaria, Frederick IV of Denmark, the "Artist and her sister Naneta" (Uffizi) and Augustus the Strong, king of Poland and Elector of Saxony, who acquired a large collection of her pastels. In 1704, she was named Accademico di merito by the Accademia romana di San Luca, a title reserved for non-Roman painters. Between 1720 and 1721, Carriera worked in Paris, where her work was in great demand. During his stay in Paris, Carriera was the guest of the great art aficionado and collector Pierre Crozat. She painted Watteau, all the royalty and nobility, from the King and the Regent to the very youngest, and was elected a member of the Academy by acclamation. In the short time she spent in Paris, Carriera's work helped shape the new aristocratic tastes of the court and, by extension, the tastes of Parisians. Her freedom, colorfulness and charm were injected into the Rococo style (of which she was the image), which soon dominated the arts. Despite her triumph in Paris, in 1721 she returned to her home on the Grand Canal in Venice. In 1730, Carriera made a long journey to the royal court in Vienna (Austria). There, Emperor Charles VI became his benefactor and was fully committed to supporting his work.