THE LADY WITH THE VEIL
While largely
forgotten today, Alexander Roslin (1718-1793) was one of the leading
portraitists of his time and surely the most successful Swedish artist from the
18th century era. Roslin, who was born in Malmö, got his training and
developed his skills as an artist in Stockholm, but decided to leave Sweden in
1745, in hope of important commissions abroad.
This decision proved wise:
soon he was given the opportunity to demonstrate his qualities as a portrait
painter at the courts of Bayreuth, Parma and Rome, among others. Roslin found
his final destination in Paris, where he would live – with an exception of two
years in service of Catherina the Great - from 1752 until his death. In Paris,
he was admitted to the French Academy of Fine Arts and painted numerous
portraits of significant figures of the leading political and cultural circles.
The reason why he was in
such high demand as a portraitist, particularly among the rich and famous, must
be sought in the fabulous way that Roslin could render the texture of precious materials
such as fabrics and jewels, as well as his talent to show people at their best.
His work possesses Classicist elements, but also bears characteristics of the Rococo
style in its elegance and charm.
Ironically, Roslin’s
best-known portrait by far, The Lady with the Veil, is not of a member of the
high society, but of his own wife, Marie-Suzanne Giroust. Roslin depicted her
as a Bolognese lady dressed up for the carnival. Her mischievous smile, the
veil and the fan in her hand have strong amorous connotations. The
seductive quality was not lost on the famous philosopher and critic Denis Diderot,
who, when he saw the painting on show at the Parisian Salon, characterized it
as ‘très piquante’.
(text: Maarten Levendig)
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