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Notes
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This young woman appears to have been startled by something – she turns her head and clasps her blouse to her chest. Her expression seems calm, however, perhaps suggesting that she is familiar with whatever has distracted her. Her pose is based on the Medici Venus, a famous marble sculpture of the goddess of love made in Greece in the first century BC. While the sculpted Venus is nude, this woman is just covered by a thin white blouse and brown shawl. The smooth skin of the woman’s face and neck was created with feathery brushstrokes of pink, white and subtle blue tones, while thicker layers of paint give her arms a sense of three-dimensionality. Fine, delicate brushstrokes make up her glossy black hair, with bright highlights to show the reflection of light.
Title
The Surprise
Date
before 1827
Medium
Oil on canvas
Measurements
H 65.2 x W 54.3 cm
Accession number
NG457
Acquisition method
Presented by Robert Vernon, 1847
Work type
Painting
The National Gallery, London
Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England
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Mrs Hervey Francis de Montmorency and Her Daughter Frances Manchester Art Gallery -
Lady Clifford Constable, with Her Son, Talbot Burton Constable Hall -
Eliza Chichester (1798–1859), Sister to Lady Marianne Clifford Constable Burton Constable Hall -
Mary Barbara (1801–1876), Lady Chichester, with Her Two Elder Sons Burton Constable Hall -
Sir Thomas Aston Clifford Constable (1806–1870) Burton Constable Hall -
The Surprise The National Gallery, London