An Italian Lady

Antoine Piot

Summary

An Italian woman is pictured in traditional dress, holding a wallflower. Piot has captured convincingly her glistening gold jewellery, and the creases in her soft sleeves and starched cuffs. Her full red lips and the touches of scarlet in her costume catch our attention. Her direct gaze is alluring, without being openly inviting. The plump, soft hands with delicately tapering fingers do not imply manual labour, but are reminiscent instead of the sort of modelling that Piot might have learnt in the studio of his teacher Paul Delaroche (1797-1856). Little else is known of this French 19th century portraitist, except that he exhibited at the Salon of 1870.