Explore the Description of this artwork, Portrait of Elizabeth Kerr.
The subject is shown seated three-quarter-length, her hands resting in her lap and her right forearm resting on a table. She wears a dress influenced by the ancient Greek chiton and an overmantle of blueish silk, edged with ermine to reflect her noble status. Influenced by ancient Roman busts, her high and heavily-ornamented hairstyle was very fashionable for the time, with a single braid running over her right breast. Reynolds contrasts her white skin with a darker background Some art historians argue that the work complies with the "four principles of painting" outlined by Reynolds in his Discourses on Art, namely invention, colour, drapery and expression.
chiton