Technique

The design was sketched in what appears to be crayon on a fine, open-weave, tabby unprimed canvas. It has a roughly-applied, thick brown-grey artist's imprimatura made from lead white, bone black, yellow ochre, vermilion and (probably) prussian blue. It has an original loose lining, which is primed, with the grey priming facing outwards. 1 The canvas has an uneven texture.

The face and upper shoulders were sketched with a crayon-like black material, but the drawing lines fizzle out towards the torso. The face and hair were painted with conspicuous brushstrokes in thin dry paint, the edges of the face and hair soft and blurred. Scumbles of brown paint were brushed over the grey for the hair. The colours are very delicate and the face is carefully modelled in pale shades of grey, brown and delicate pink. Tiny white highlights bring the eyes to life. The grey imprimatura shows through in the lighter areas. The paint colours include mixtures of lead white, bone black, yellow, red and brown ochre, cadmium yellow and ultramarine, used in different proportions, to create a colour harmony. 2 The effect is fresh and direct.

Conservation History

There are small paint losses and damage at the extreme edges, and some over-painting is visible above the sitter's head. The varnish is a little yellowed. 3

Frame

A Whistlerian Flat frame dating from the 1920s. 4 Size: 61.6 x 41.0 x 2.7 cm.