Portrait of the Maistre Sisters
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 43.2 × 31.2 cm (17 × 12 1/4 in.); Framed: 57.2 × 44.5 cm (22 1/2 × 17 1/2 in.)
- Genre
- oil on canvas
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago
Styles
Tags
oil paintings (visual works)paintingpaintcanvasjewelryportraits: female subjectoil on canvasfrenchportraitblack (color)oil paint (paint)painting (image making)painting techniqueslandscapewomenportraits: multiple subjectswhite (color)portraitsoil paintingtreeseuropean paintingfoliage18th CenturyNatureriver
About
In this captivating double portrait, the fashionable Maistre sisters appear in complementary flowing muslin gowns and delicate gold jewelry. Ninette, in black, wraps her arm delicately yet protectively around her sister Suzette’s waist as both look out toward the viewer. French painter Antoine-Jean Gros created the visual sensation of a gentle breeze by animating the sitters’ gauze-like draperies and chestnut curls. Dense foliage, at times blending in with the curls, frames the pair and opens onto a gleaming landscape background.
