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Photographed August 2010
Woman Seated Before a Mirror
Photographed August 2010
Public domain: Image courtesy of the Worcester Art Museum.

Woman Seated Before a Mirror

Artist (French, 1752–1814)
Date1779
MediumEtching and drypoint printed on silk with watercolor
Dimensionssilk: 23.2 x 20.1 cm (9 1/8 x 7 15/16 in.)
ClassificationsPrints
Credit LineMrs. Kingsmill Marrs Collection
Object number1925.461
Label TextJaninet employs several examples of eighteenth-century gender symbolism in this traditional image of a lady at her toilette. It appears the woman has received a bouquet of pink roses, a floral variety with allusions to gratitude and grace. The prominent pearls are an age-old symbol of feminine fidelity and virtue; and the letter she holds is likely a thank-you note which accompanied the arrangement. Notably the mirror does not accurately reflect the seated figure. Instead the figure is presented in profile, making her likeness similar to the miniatures and silhouettes that were en vogue during the period.
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