Jean Etienne Liotard

seated on a red divan, wearing Turkish costume, a fur-lined red coat, over a green dress bound by a belt with large gold double-disc clasp, her head with a gold embroidered black cap, stamped gilt-metal frame

Marwitz collection, Freiburg, sale Helbing Munich, 22 March 1932, lot 243;
W. Gutermann, Turin, by 1933; his sale Sotheby's Zurich, 15 November 1977, lot 99

Turin, Il Faro, Mostra di minature, 25 May - 15 June 1933

Viale 1933, p. 8 illustrated p. 9, fig. 18;
Schidlof 1964, vol 1, p. 507 'a beautiful portr. of a lady in Turkish costume'  

Ivory ground. There are some fine water-spots on the background, combined with slight surface grime. At the base (lower left) there is some mould, there is also some slight paint loss at the lower right. On other parts including the red sleeve and the green dress there are very small raised flecks, presumably some form of mould - these are not really evident to the naked eye.
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NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Following an introduction early in 1738 to William Ponsonby, later 2^nd Earl of Bessborough (1704-1793), Liotard was invited by the English traveller to join him and other companions on a journey to the Levant and Constantinople. From that summer the Ottoman capital became the artist's residence for five years, during which time he adopted local dress and customs. After leaving Constantinople Liotard continued to wear Ottoman costume, an attention-drawing practice that led him to gain the soubriquet 'the Turkish painter'.

The Europeans who resided in the Galata and Pera quarters of city immediately became one of Liotard's principal subjects. Often working with red and black chalks, the artist drew them wearing the sumptuous dress of the locality, many depicted full-length against a plain background, or alternatively seated on a divan (see Herdt 1992, nos. 23, 28, 30, 31, 37, 38). As with the present miniature, the absence of superfluous surrounding detail makes the spectator concentrate on the rich apparel, a focus that is not distracted by the sitters' faces, which frequently convey a mood of thoughtful introspection.

This important miniature, which probably dates from the earlier part of Liotard's sojourn in Constantinople, is a rare example of his work of the Ottoman period in this medium. Another miniature by Liotard depicting a lady in Turkish costume, measuring 9 by 7.3cm, is in the State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg (see Loche/Roethlisberger 1978, no. M1, illustrated).

We would like to thank Dr. Marcel Roethlisberger and Dr. Bodo Hofstetter for authenticating this miniature and confirming that they will include it in the forthcoming catalogue raisonné on Liotard.