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We do not know the identity of this elegantly dressed woman who plays a sonata on the harpsichord. There are two copies of this miniature that are attributed to other artists (Peter Adolphe Hall and Marie Christine Campana), and both identify the sitter as Sophie Arnould, a highly acclaimed French soprano. Dumont was fond of using objects in the space around the sitter to express her character—a common practice in portraits—so it is possible that this woman was a musician. To play a musical instrument well was considered an essential feminine accomplishment for an aristocratic woman during the eighteenth century, and like her fashionable dress, communicates the sitter's grace and charm to the viewer. This miniature was probably painted around 1788, on the eve of the French revolution, and the year that Sophie retired from the stage at the age of 48. Unknown sitters are oftentimes later identified as persons who were well-known or fashionable during the period when the work was painted, and it is difficult to know conclusively.
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- Page
- 1
- Source index
- 0
- Type
- photo
- Media ID
- 8c38e03e3e11f67f
- Size
- unknown
Document data
- ID
- 121267
- Core
- obj
- Type
- object
DTO data
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"id": "121267",
"contentType": "object",
"title": "Portrait of a Woman at a Harpsichord",
"description": "We do not know the identity of this elegantly dressed woman who plays a sonata on the harpsichord. There are two copies of this miniature that are attributed to other artists (Peter Adolphe Hall and Marie Christine Campana), and both identify the sitter as Sophie Arnould, a highly acclaimed French soprano. Dumont was fond of using objects in the space around the sitter to express her character—a common practice in portraits—so it is possible that this woman was a musician. To play a musical instrument well was considered an essential feminine accomplishment for an aristocratic woman during the eighteenth century, and like her fashionable dress, communicates the sitter's grace and charm to the viewer. This miniature was probably painted around 1788, on the eve of the French revolution, and the year that Sophie retired from the stage at the age of 48. Unknown sitters are oftentimes later identified as persons who were well-known or fashionable during the period when the work was painted, and it is difficult to know conclusively.",
"date": "c. 1788",
"citation": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1942.1139",
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"largeImageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1942.1139/1942.1139_web.jpg",
"imageCount": 1,
"source": "import",
"dimensionsRaw": "Diameter: 7.3 cm (2 7/8 in.); Diameter of frame: 9.3 cm (3 11/16 in.)",
"cul": [
"France, 18th century"
],
"accession": "1942.1139"
}
Context sent to Scholar
Document identity
{
"localId": "121267",
"label": "Portrait of a Woman at a Harpsichord",
"core": "obj",
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}
Document source metadata
{
"id": "121267",
"contentType": "object",
"title": "Portrait of a Woman at a Harpsichord",
"description": "We do not know the identity of this elegantly dressed woman who plays a sonata on the harpsichord. There are two copies of this miniature that are attributed to other artists (Peter Adolphe Hall and Marie Christine Campana), and both identify the sitter as Sophie Arnould, a highly acclaimed French soprano. Dumont was fond of using objects in the space around the sitter to express her character—a common practice in portraits—so it is possible that this woman was a musician. To play a musical instrument well was considered an essential feminine accomplishment for an aristocratic woman during the eighteenth century, and like her fashionable dress, communicates the sitter's grace and charm to the viewer. This miniature was probably painted around 1788, on the eve of the French revolution, and the year that Sophie retired from the stage at the age of 48. Unknown sitters are oftentimes later identified as persons who were well-known or fashionable during the period when the work was painted, and it is difficult to know conclusively.",
"date": "c. 1788",
"citation": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1942.1139",
"rights": "CC0",
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"language": "en",
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"largeImageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1942.1139/1942.1139_web.jpg",
"imageCount": 1,
"source": "import",
"dimensionsRaw": "Diameter: 7.3 cm (2 7/8 in.); Diameter of frame: 9.3 cm (3 11/16 in.)",
"cul": [
"France, 18th century"
],
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}
Document source extras
{
"tec": "watercolor on ivory in a 19th-century stamped gold and gilt metal frame",
"tombstone": "Portrait of a Woman at a Harpsichord, c. 1788. François Dumont (French, 1751–1831). Watercolor on ivory in a 19th-century stamped gold and gilt metal frame; diameter: 7.3 cm (2 7/8 in.); diameter of frame: 9.3 cm (3 11/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Edward B. Greene Collection, 1942.1139",
"collection": "P - French 18th Century",
"inscriptions": [
{
"inscription": "signed right: Dumont. fc"
}
],
"citations": [
{
"citation": "Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Portrait Miniatures; The Edward B. Greene Collection.</em> Cleveland: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1951.",
"page_number": "Reproduced: plate XXVIII, no. 60; Mentioned: p. 34",
"url": "https://archive.org/details/PortraitMiniatures/page/n75"
}
],
"url": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1942.1139",
"creditline": "The Edward B. Greene Collection",
"updatedAt": "2026-05-29 06:14:47.530000",
"imageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1942.1139/1942.1139_print.jpg",
"sourceId": 121267,
"dept": "European Painting and Sculpture",
"coll": "P - French 18th Century",
"med": "watercolor on ivory in a 19th-century stamped gold and gilt metal frame",
"creatorTags": [
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],
"thumbnail_url": null,
"image_url": null
}
Page context
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