
PORTRAIT
Of a Lady playing the Guitar.
BY DROUAIS, 1727-1775.
François-Hubert Drouais was a French painter of portraits.
Madame Schneider’s Collection.
She is sitting in a park, in a theatrical costume with a shepherdess’s hat; it is probably the portrait of a singer in her part in some opera.
Not beautiful, but with a pleasant, frank, and open expression, this woman had, we can believe, much wit and charm. Very skilfully posed in the grove-like scene, this portrait is brilliantly rendered with the spirited crispness of the very spontaneous artist that Drouais usually showed himself. He is always to be known by his taste in arranging his sitter, and the pleasing mastery he displayed even in selecting an attitude.
Source: Treasures and masterpieces of art. Shown at the 5th World’s Fair in Paris (Exposition universelle de 1900), by Gaston Migeon. Paris: Goupil & cie, 1901.

Continuing
Support and Seduction: The History of Corsets and Bras (Abradale Books) by Beatrice Fontanel.
Thoughout the ages, women's breasts have been subjected to the endless whims of fashion.
From the ancient Greeks to Mae West and Madonna, this light-hearted book charts the changing shapes of female beauty. The elegant and amusing images - including fashion drawings, paintings, photographs, and film stills - illustrate the often surprising history of the garments women have worn for support - and seduction.