Mrs. Miranda and Child

The painting of Eulalia Miranda and her daughter, Sheila, is a wonderful example of António Xavier Trindade’s portrait mastery. His distinctive classical approach assured him fame and recognition among Bombay’s society of the time. The Mirandas were neighbours and friends of the Trindade family in Mahim.
From a social point of view, this portrait provides a glimpse of how cosmopolitan Bombay lived in the early 20th Century. Mrs. Miranda is portrayed as a confident and self-assured Goan lady of European descend. Dressed in a pink dress with long sleeves and a contrasting collar in a striking pattern. Eulalia accessorized her outfit with hoop earrings, popular with western women of the time. Around her neck is a short chain, with a pendant which appears to be a locket, with tiny stones perhaps rubies and on left her arm a golden bangle. Her little daughter carries on her arm an adjustable bangle in a pattern common among children of privileged families of the time.
References: Shihandi, Marcella, et al, António Xavier Trindade: An Indian Painter from Portuguese Goa (exhibition catalogue), Georgia Museum of Art, University of Georgia, 1996; Gracias, Fátima, Faces of Colonial India: The Work of Goan Artist António Xavier Trindade (1870-1935), Panjim, Goa, Fundação Oriente, 2014.