Antique French Miniature Female with Cat Portrait best in Wood Frame. After Jean-Baptiste Perronneau

This hand painted miniature portrait depicts the artist's rendition of Jean-Baptiste Perronneau's 'Mademoiselle Huquier Holding a Little Kitten.' She is presented in a blue dress with best a matching ribbon and lace around her neck. Her hair is in tight curls and she has one more small ribbon in her hair. She is perfectly posed petting her kitten.

In watercolour on ivory, the painting is surrounded by a diminutive bronze patterned bezel with glass covering the painting. The frame is solid wood and the back is finished in burgundy paper and has a hanger.

Portrait miniatures were produced in great numbers all the way through the 1800s, as everyone wanted a memento of the celebrities of the time. In very good antique condition, there is one small area of varnish loss on the frame.

Jean-Baptiste Perronneau is known as one of the most accomplished portrait artists of the 18th century, especially in the use of pastels. He painted only three works with cats, all portraits of women. In 'Girl with a Kitten,' 1745, the girl is artificially posed and the inclusion of the kitten is a symbol of uncontrollable nature pitted against the innocence of childhood.

Width: 12.5 cm (~5")
Height: 12.5 cm (~5")
Depth: 1.8 cm (~0.75")