Mexican, c. 1800A Lady Opening her CabinetOil on CanvasCanvas 21 ¾ x 16 ½ inches (55 x 42 cm); framed size 25 ½ x 20 ¼ inchesThe late Colonial style of this Mexican portrait brings to mind the more neoclassical works by Francisco Eduardo Tresguerras (1759 – 1833) whose portraits ushered in a new phase in Mexican art, influenced by the Enlightenment and demonstrates an elegant but simpler aesthetic in clothing and furnishings. As a bourgeois with disposable income began to emerge in Mexico, its members could afford to commission informal portraits. Because Mexico City was a highly cosmopolitan New World city, these portraits were strongly influenced especially by French, but also English portraiture of the period.
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