Pierre-André Le Suire

Young Lady at a Desk

The little known Frenchman Pierre-André Le Suire created this portrait of a lady sitting at a desk in a rather extravagant detailed interior. This miniature strongly differs from pictures painted in Paris at that time especially in its masterly elaboration of the furniture and the accessoires. Comparable miniatures show the thoroughly elaborated portrait in the foreground, whereas the background very often is only sketched or disappears in the dark. In contrast to the psychologically well-thought-out portraits by Périn-Salbreux, Le Suire preferred to express the character of the sitters by means of the objects surrounding them. Part of this is the delicately balanced composition of the colours, which serves to intimate the lady's tenderly rose-coloured complexion.