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Lady of the lorgnon

Columbano Bordalo Pinheiro1895

Museu Nacional de Machado de Castro

Museu Nacional de Machado de Castro
Coimbra, Portugal

Oil painting on wood, depicting a female figure, half-body, inserted in a greenish background, consisting essentially of broad spots of greens that merge with browns, abruptly sectioned by a blue-gray tone in the upper left corner. This contrast of colour, bringing a cold tone into earthy secondary colours, points the attention of the observer to the hat, where the same tone is used in the flower that decorates it. Simultaneously it confers mystery, drama and an introspection that prepare the observer for the psychological portrait that this painting contains.
The woman, turned slightly three quarters to the left, wears a high-top hat, light brown, with a brim girded by a brown ribbon, topped by the blue flower and leaves (green). Her hair is tight, possibly at the back of her nape. She wears a multi-colored patchwork jacket, highlighting the red that contrasts strongly with the rest of the colour palette, focusing the attention of the observer on the character's face: oblong face, with long chin, fleshy bottom lip and strangely small eyes that stare the viewer through a bezel, or "lorgnon", that she holds gently in her right gloved hand.

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  • Title: Lady of the lorgnon
  • Creator: Columbano Bordalo Pinheiro
  • Date Created: 1895
  • Location Created: Machado de Castro National Museum, Coimbra, Portugal
  • Physical Dimensions: 27.2 cm x 22 cm
  • Type: Painting
  • Rights: Photo: DGPC/ADF - Photographic Documentation Archive
  • Medium: Oil painting on wood
Museu Nacional de Machado de Castro

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