Album of 36 Original Watercolors and Gouache Paintings of One Upper Crust Hispanic Woman Engaged in Various Leisure and Sporting Activities
by D.R.F
- Used
- very good
- Condition
- Very Good
- Seller
-
New York, New York, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
1872. Heavy Morocco. Very Good. 4to. 31 by 24 cm. The watercolors or gouaches are mounted onto the heavy card leaves of the album. Each measures 12 by 9 cm. They are very fully, richly painted. Depicted is the woman playing croquet, holding a fan, dancing ballet, ice skating, walking, balancing on a high wire, at prayer, in riding habit, playing a guitar, mountain climbing, at the theater, punting, wading in water, shooting a bow, etc. In some of the paintings she is merely modeling an extravagant costume. While much of the dress was undoubtedly the latest cosmopolitan fashion coming out of Paris, there is enough that has a specifically Spanish flavor, and this combined with explicit Catholic references and in keeping with her facial features, leads one to conclude with confidence that she was Hispanic, and in fact, probably South American. The artwork has a naive quality, but this might have been also cultivated by the artist, who was at the same time unstinting in rendering fine details in dress. While the hair color could vary, all the paintings are modeled clearly on one woman, who might be described as striking as opposed to beautiful, even compensating for the evolution in notions of feminine beauty. Given the number of paintings depicting her dancing in tutu, one might surmise she was a professional dancer. Certainly, if this represented her lifestyle, she never lacked for activity. Of social historic interest is the sheer variety of sports that one woman participated in. Also of interest is the exquisite rendering of the gowns and dresses. Minor soiling.
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Details
- Bookseller
- White Fox Rare Books and Antiques (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 003118
- Title
- Album of 36 Original Watercolors and Gouache Paintings of One Upper Crust Hispanic Woman Engaged in Various Leisure and Sporting Activities
- Author
- D.R.F
- Format/Binding
- Heavy Morocco
- Book Condition
- Used - Very Good
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Date Published
- 1872
Terms of Sale
White Fox Rare Books and Antiques
30 day return guarantee, with full refund including shipping costs for up to 30 days after delivery if an item arrives misdescribed or damaged.
About the Seller
White Fox Rare Books and Antiques
Biblio member since 2010
New York, New York
About White Fox Rare Books and Antiques
By appointment. Antiquarian and rare books with strengths in illustrated plate books, the decorative arts, costume, sporting, foreign language literature (in the original language), with growing emphasis on early printing.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
- Morocco
- Morocco is a style of leather book binding that is usually made with goatskin, as it is durable and easy to dye. (see also...
- Leaves
- Very generally, "leaves" refers to the pages of a book, as in the common phrase, "loose-leaf pages." A leaf is a single sheet...