Portrait of Anne Vallayer-Coster
Medium
watercolor on ivory in a gilt metal and enamel frame
Dimensions
diam. 7.6 cm · diameter of frame 10.2 cm
Classification
Portrait Miniature
Department
Modern European Painting and Sculpture
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
The Edward B. Greene Collection
Accession Number
1943.639
Tags
About this artwork
Born in 1744, Anne Vallayer-Coster was a prominent still-life painter in France during the 1770s and 1780s. The daughter of a goldsmith, she grew up observing the intricacies of metalwork, acquiring an attention to detail apparent in her paintings. She was apprenticed to the seascape painter Joseph Vernet who encouraged her to pursue painting as a profession. In 1770 Vallayer-Coster sought membership in the exclusive French Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture with the submission of two s...