Portrait of a Young Lady

The lady is sitting on an armchair, in a naturalistic attitude. Few but important details shows that she belongs to the aristocratic class: the fashionable dress, the hairstyle, the precious armchair and also the damask wallpaper. The pose and the setting and especially the style, are clearly inspired to Impressionism. Thus we can notice the brushwork, rapid and gentle, the unfinished colour layer, and obviously also the realistic reproduction which capture the moment like a picture. The idea of a photograph is emphasized by the expression of the lady, who seems smiling to someone out to the picture. This portrait can be read as a symbol of a positive society, looking forward the progress of Europe and trying to forget the difficult moments of the Italian Risorgimento wars.