Mrs Woodhull

Zoffany painted Mrs Woodhull in 1770, during a particularly productive period in his portrait career when commissions from the English gentry and aristocracy kept his studio fully occupied. The Tate canvas depicts its sitter with the warm specificity and three-quarter informality that made Zoffany's portraits sought after by clients who wanted likeness and character over ceremonial grandeur. His female portraits of this period occupy a middle register between the formal grandeur of Reynolds's society portraits and the bourgeois intimacy of smaller-scale likenesses: they are respectful of social position but never sacrificial of individual presence. The 1770 date places this work in the years before Zoffany undertook his extended Indian journey (1783–1789), when his work was focused on English clients and his technique was at its most assured.

The sitter is shown in three-quarter length against a summary background, costume rendered with attention to textile quality and colour. Zoffany's flesh modelling gives the face warmth and presence without idealisation. The handling of silk or satin in the dress shows his technical confidence with light-reflective surfaces.