Susanne L'Huillier, später Mme Perregaux

Lady with Red Cape on Blue Sofa

The Swiss miniaturist Suzanne L'Huilliers attached great importance to the sensitive representation of a sitter based on accurate observation. In this portrait the lady's large expressive eyes gleam in the light and look gently at the observer. Clear colours and a remarkable combination of blue, white and red determine the picture. Since L'Huilliers also worked for French patrons this choice of colours may be an allusion to a possibly pro-revolutionary attitude of the sitter or the patron of this miniature. ¹

¹ The miniature was created in the period following Napoléon's deposition when the Bourbonic dominion and parts of the Ancien Régime were reestablished. Part of this political change was the endeavour to reestablish the white flag from the pre-revolutionary times as national flag. The bourgeoisie, however, insisted on keeping the tricolour which was inspired by the blue-white-red Cocarde of Paris and had become a symbol of the Revolution. See also the famous painting by Eugène Delacroix "Liberty leads the people" showing the rebellion on July 28, 1830.