Portrait of a Woman

A poised young woman with cascading ringlets of dark hair sits before us in a tastefully appointed interior. She is fashionably dressed in a dark blue silk dress trimmed with lace, deep orange cashmere shawl, and ornate pearl jewelry. The fan in her left hand and the opera glass and sheer, feathered bonnet on the table beside her hints at a stimulating evening out at the theater. Exhibited by Fremiet at the Brussels Salon of 1818, her public debut, this large-scale painting established her as a professional portraitist and highlighted her particular skill in rendering different fabrics and materials. Possibly depicting a fellow French émigré, Portrait of a Woman shows how thoroughly Fremiet had assimilated the late neoclassical manner of Jacques-Louis David, her teacher in Brussels and arguably the most celebrated painter in Europe at the time. David recognized Fremiet’s talents early on, entrusting her to copy some of his famous works from this period, including The Farewell of Telemachus and Eucharis (87.PA.27).