|
''Beauty Revealed'' is an 1828 self-portrait by Sarah Goodridge, painted in miniature with watercolors on a piece of ivory. Depicting the artist's bared breasts surrounded by pale cloth, the painting – originally on a paper backing – is set in a modern case. Goodridge, aged forty when she completed the miniature, depicts breasts which appear imbued with a "balance, paleness, and buoyancy" by the harmony of light, color, and balance. The surrounding cloth draws the viewer to focus on them, leading to the body being "erased".〔 Goodridge gifted the portrait to statesman Daniel Webster, who was a frequent subject and possibly a lover, following the death of his wife; she may have intended to provoke him into marrying her. Although Webster married someone else, his family held onto the portrait until the 1980s, when it was auctioned at Christie's and acquired by Gloria and Richard Manney in 1981. The couple gifted/sold their collection of miniatures, including ''Beauty Revealed'', to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2006. ==Description and context== ''Beauty Revealed'' is a self-portrait by Sarah Goodridge, depicting her bared breasts,〔 pink nipples,〔 and a beauty mark. These are presented in a gradation of color, giving a three-dimensional effect.〔 Although Goodridge was aged forty when she painted this miniature, according to art critic Chris Packard her breasts seem younger, with a "balance, paleness, and buoyancy" which is imbued in part by the harmony of light, color, and balance.〔 The breasts are framed by a swirl of pale cloth, which in parts reflects the light.〔 The painting is set in a case; it had originally been installed on a paper backing which had the date "1828" on the reverse. The work is a watercolor painting on ivory,〔 thin enough for light to shine through and thus allow the depicted breasts to "glow".〔 This medium was common for American miniatures, but in this case also served as a simile for the flesh presented upon it. ''Beauty Revealed'' was completed during a period of popularity of portrait miniatures, a medium which had been introduced in the United States in the late 18th century. By the time Goodridge completed her self-portrait, miniatures were increasing in complexity and vibrance.〔 The Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History describes ''Beauty Revealed'' as a play on the eye miniatures which were then popular as tokens of affection in England and France, but not common in the US. Such miniatures allowed portraits of loved ones to be carried by their suitors without revealing the sitters' identities. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Beauty Revealed」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|