Portrait of a Woman

The preeminent artist producing pastel portraits in eighteenth-century Venice, Rosalba Carriera became so celebrated that she was known across the western world simply as “Rosalba”—a remarkable development for a woman at that time. Patrons from throughout Europe— primarily Great Britain, France, and Germany—flocked to her house and studio on the Grand Canal to be portrayed by her. The unidentified sitter in this portrait is richly dressed and wearing lavish jewelry. Rosalba followed a series of prototypes when representing her sitters, and this pastel is a characteristic work by her.