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Portrait of Mary Anne Bloxam (later Mrs. Frederick H. Hemming)
Thomas Lawrence·1824
Historical Context
Mary Anne Bloxam, later Mrs. Frederick Hemming, was painted in 1824 as a companion piece to her husband's portrait. Together, the pair forms one of Lawrence's most harmonious late commissions, and both remain united at the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth. Lawrence executed the work in oil on canvas with his characteristic warm tonality and bravura brushwork, building up faces with transparent glazes while handling costume and background with rapid, assured strokes.
Technical Analysis
The female companion portrait typically receives Lawrence's most delicate treatment, and this is no exception. The sitter's complexion is built up through luminous layers, with rosy warmth concentrated on the cheeks and a cooler clarity on the forehead and neck.
Look Closer
- ◆Notice the luminous layers with rosy warmth concentrated on the cheeks and cooler clarity on forehead and neck: Lawrence's most delicate female technique.
- ◆Look at the companion portrait relationship: this is one of a matched pair, and Lawrence calibrates the female version as the more delicate counterpart.
- ◆Observe the Kimbell Art Museum location alongside the companion portrait of Frederick Hemming.
- ◆Find the late mastery: even in 1824 Lawrence's glazing method produces the luminous flesh tones that defined his career.
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