The Pedant's Revolt

Something different, made using Microsoft Paint:

I'm listening to Yusuf (Cat) Stephens singing his own composition Here Comes My Baby. It's more than fifty years old but still sounds fresh and exciting. Listen here and cheer your self up!

Painting of the Month (89) August 2019: Maria Cosway

Maria Cosway, Self-portrait 1787

Maria Cosway 1760-1838, was married to the more famous Richard Cosway who was a noted miniaturist. He was twenty years older than her and a serial philanderer who was reputed to resemble a monkey! You can she from this self-portrait and other pictures of her that she was a beauty. The pair were a great social success and leading portraitists of their era which led to jealousy from some of their contemporaries. She was also a highly talented musician and their home in Pall Mall was a meeting place for members of high society. She is reputed to have had an affair with Thomas Jefferson while they were in Paris.

This is an unusual painting for several reasons: she sits facing the viewer in a three-quarter pose with her arms folded in an assertive, almost defiant, manner; rare for a female sitter. I wonder if this was some kind of protest and maybe she was discontented with her life. She is wearing elegant, fashionable clothing with a turban and wears a cross on a black ribbon around her neck - referencing her strong Catholic faith. However, she makes no allusion to herself as a painter although she was well-established by this time.

 An Angel and Putti accompanying a child's soul to Heaven

 

Jesus raising a woman from the dead, (but no male figure to be seen!)

Portrait of Maria by Richard Cosway.

I'm listening to Jackson Brown's Linda Paloma. You can hear it here.