The Fire or Winter

The Venetian Rosalba Carriera is considered one of the most representative figures of eighteenth-century European portraiture. Cosmopolitan and sought after for her extraordinary abilities, Rosalba was appreciated by all the connoisseurs and sovereigns of the time, including Louis XV. The artist took to the highest levels the very fine pastel technique, which was perfect for rendering the complexion of the graceful powdery visages of the Enlightenment era. This refined pastel belongs to the list of allegories made by Carriera, and depicts a young woman with a shiny pearl earring, warming her hand in front of a small brazier: an allegory of Winter or, more likely, of Fire.