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Mademoiselle de Montbrizon
(18th and 19th Centuries )
In this circular miniature, Mlle de Montbrizon looks up from her desk with a letter in her hand. Polite and expressive letter writing was a highly prized social accomplishment in 18th-century France. In Paris, the French capital, notes and letters crisscrossed the city; by the mid-century, there were up to nine deliveries of mail each day. Although the sitter in this miniature is shown with a quill and elegant writing furniture, we can tell from the way in which it is folded and addressed that she has received rather than written the letter she holds.
Inscription
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
Huntington Collection, New York and California; A. Jay Fink Foundation, Inc., Baltimore, 1963, by bequest [inv. no. A-273]; Walters Art Museum, 1963, by gift.
Exhibitions
| 2011 | The Art of Writing Instruments from Paris to Persia. |
| 1958-1959 | Four Centuries of Miniature Painting from the Collections of the A. Jay Fink Foundation, Inc. and A.J. Fink, Personally. Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore. |
Conservation
| Date | Description | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| Treatment | washed; cleaned | |
| 1/15/1964 | Treatment | cleaned |
| 5/12/1964 | Treatment | other |
Geographies
France (Place of Origin)
Measurements
Diam: 3 in. (7.62 cm); Framed diam: 4 in. (10.16 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of the A. Jay Fink Foundation, Inc., in memory of Abraham Jay Fink, 1963
Location in Museum
Not on view
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
38.337