Analysis Of The Portrait Of Mrs. Chinnery

The painting named Portrait of Mrs. Chinnery is an artwork by Elisabeth-Louise Vigee LeBrun produced in the year 1803. It is oil on canvas rectangular painting measuring 36 by 28 inches (91.5 by 71 cent meters). Its subject is Mrs. Chinnery, wife to William. Details on her life are scarce although her maiden name is reported. She was a widely known pianist and a popular hostess in one of the buildings that many of the British rich and noble people liked to frequent. She had three children: George, Caroline and Walter. In this painting, the lady is presented sitting in a relaxed manner while reading a book which is claimed to be about the French fashion of which she was an enthusiast. The subject’s body is facing to the right of the painting, the direction in which she holds the book. She, however, is facing directly in front, in reference to the portrait, with her gaze slightly to the right. Her left arm is hidden below the book, away from view in the painting, while her right arm rests between the pages of the book, probably near the middle of the book, as if to prevent it from closing. She is wearing a red dress, with short sleeves and a V shape in the chest area. She has two necklaces hanging from her neck. She has a red bund round her head, probably to hold her hair off her face. She has gold colored hair hanging freely down her neck and back. In the forehead, the hair is parted in such a way as to form an inverted V. She can be inferred to be wearing a red lipstick, with her face tilted slightly to the left. She does not seem to be smiling; her left eye is open wider than the left eye as if she is winking with the lips closed tightly together. Part of the thigh region can be seen but the legs are hidden off the painting. She ...

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... manor of Gilwell at Stewardstone where she had spent a night. She even ended up calling it a “fairy-like spectacle of springtime”. She was equally impressed by her hostess, Mrs.Chinnery, to an extent she described her as “a very handsome woman whose mind had great finesse and charm”(Bermingham & Brewer, 1997). It can thus be said that this particular painting was a tribute to the entire experience she had while in England as well as an honor to the woman she admired a lot. The book in the painting, perhaps, is meant to show that Mrs. Chinnery was a scholar or knowledgeable. The fact that the book she has painted is thought to have been authored by French authoress Mine de Genlis means that Mrs. Chinnery had great admiration for the French and their culture. The relaxed posture in the portrait farther accentuates the feeling of welcome and homely nature of the lady.