Portrait of a Domestic Servant

c. 1859

Nicolas Leclerc

Associated Names
Leclerc

Artist, French

The image shows an older woman's upper body while she is seated. She is positioned facing slightly towards her left, gazing directly at the camera. Her facial features are defined by a serious expression, with visible wrinkles, and she wears a white cap that covers all her hair. The woman is dressed in a dark shawl draped over her shoulders and a lighter-colored skirt. In her right hand, she holds a small book, and her left hand rests on a table adorned with a fringed cloth. The background is a plain curtain with some texture. The photograph is framed in a decorated casing with a black border and gold edging.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    daguerreotype

  • Credit Line

    Paul Mellon Fund

  • Dimensions

    image (visible): 9 x 7 cm (3 9/16 x 2 3/4 in.)
    framed: 15.1 x 12.7 cm (5 15/16 x 5 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2007.29.36

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(Ken Jacobson, Essex, England); Howard and Jane Ricketts, London, June 1977; NGA purchase, 2007.

Associated Names

Inscriptions

on verso of frame, center printed in black ink on applied label: Portraits par Leclerc / Artiste Peintre. / Inventeur des Charmans Portraits, dits Epiléographie. / Les Portraits sont éxécutés dans l'Intérieur d'une / Superbe Terrasse vitrée, située à la hauteur / d'un 2e. étage; avec Salon d'attente. / 1, Rue du Pas de la Mule, 1. / a l'angle du Boulevart Beaumarchais. / Paris. / (Nota) Voir la Magnifique Exposition de la Place Royal 28.

Wikidata ID

Q64158540

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