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Source Description
In this circular miniature, Mlle de Montbrizon looks up from her desk with a letter in her hand. Polite and expressive letter writing was a highly prized social accomplishment in 18th-century France. In Paris, the French capital, notes and letters crisscrossed the city; by the mid-century, there were up to nine deliveries of mail each day. Although the sitter in this miniature is shown with a quill and elegant writing furniture, we can tell from the way in which it is folded and addressed that she has received rather than written the letter she holds.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
581
label
Mademoiselle de Montbrizon
core
obj
dtoType
object
citationUrl
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
581
sourceUrl
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Mademoiselle de Montbrizon
description
In this circular miniature, Mlle de Montbrizon looks up from her desk with a letter in her hand. Polite and expressive letter writing was a highly prized social accomplishment in 18th-century France. In Paris, the French capital, notes and letters crisscrossed the city; by the mid-century, there were up to nine deliveries of mail each day. Although the sitter in this miniature is shown with a quill and elegant writing furniture, we can tell from the way in which it is folded and addressed that she has received rather than written the letter she holds.
provenance
Huntington Collection, New York and California; A. Jay Fink Foundation, Inc., Baltimore, 1963, by bequest [inv. no. A-273]; Walters Art Museum, 1963, by gift.
date
1795
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Miniatures
miniatures (paintings)
portraits
imageCount
1
pageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Diam: 3 in. (7.62 cm); Framed diam: 4 in. (10.16 cm)
Source extras
inscriptions
signed at left ""Dumont F. Jan. 3""
med
watercolor on ivory
creator_ids
5048
collection_ids
EAN
exhibition_ids
2759
3225
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
c192f6de0442d26d