Provenance

Sir John Courtenay Throckmorton, 5th Bart.

British, died 1819

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Shown from about the lap up, a woman with light skin sits facing us as she wears a voluminous garment that covers her head and forehead beneath a black veil that falls over and past her shoulders in this vertical portrait painting. The light comes from our left, illuminating her smooth skin and flushed cheeks. She looks at us with gray eyes under gently arched brows. Her coral-pink lips are closed and possibly pulled back slightly at the corners. Her garment is pleated across the chest and sleeves to fall in full folds over her arms. A wide panel covers her shoulders, the sides of her neck, and head, and a white band crosses her forehead. The semi-transparent black veil creates a stiff peak over her head where it attaches to the top of this garment, called a wimple. Her right hand, on our left, rests in her lap and her index finger marks her spot in the small book she holds. The other hand is presumably tucked under the folds of her garment. The background behind her is peanut brown, and a diagonal line suggests a curtain pulled to our right. An inscription in capital gold letters spans the right half of the painting along the top edge: “ELIZABETH DAUGHTER OF SR ROBT THROCKMORTON BART.”
Nicolas de Largillierre, Elizabeth Throckmorton, Canoness of the Order of the Dames Augustines Anglaises, 1729, oil on canvas, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund, 1964.20.1

Elizabeth Throckmorton, Canoness of the Order of the Dames Augustines Anglaises

Nicolas de Largillierre · 1729 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1964.20.1