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Summary Of The Portrait Of A Lady In A Blue Dress

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Copley’s piece titled Portrait of a Lady in a Blue Dress created in 1763 by John Singleton Copley, represents an unnamed female portrait painted with oil on canvas. The piece currently resides in the Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois. The work of art can be seen from one side only because it hangs on the wall. There is a great deal of indications in the painting to show the viewer who this woman was and how she ranked high within society.
The portrait is displayed horizontally with a gold trimmed frame. The subject is a female that looks to be in her early 20’s sitting upright on a large brown chair. If the viewer travels up the painting the first indication of the woman’s class is her satin, blue dress. The saturated blue shines and falls in the light like water. Paired with the dress are her exceptionally detailed endings to her sleeves. The lace is even painted as though it is translucent, allowing a little of the blue dress to show through the sleeve. Flowers throughout history have symbolized innocence of a woman and her virginity. The repeating theme of flowers, in the sleeve cuffs and ribbon) in the woman’s attired suggests her purity or innocent nature. Another very details section of the painting includes the corset/torso details. The sewing suggests texture in the torso with small beading in between. Towards the top of the chest in the center, the female seems to bear an extravagant, ribbon piece with a tear drop bead in the center. The light pink

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