Hugh Douglas Hamilton
, Irish, 1740-1808
Title
Reclining Woman with Child in an Interior, NaplesDatec.1789
MediumPastel and graphite on paper laid on linen
Dimensions
Sheet: 81.5 x 102 cm
Credit LinePurchased, 2005
Object numberNGI.19622
DescriptionThis intimate scene depicts a woman in deshabille style dress teasing a young child with a 'taralli', a salted Neapolitan biscuit. The woman was previously thought to be Emma Hamilton, mistress and later wife of the famous diplomat and collector William Hamilton (1730-1803). The faces are cut-outs or inserts, pasted onto the sheet. This technique allowed the artist to make quick likenesses of a sitter on a portable sheet of paper. Later the head was cut out, adhered to a larger sheet and the overall composition was completed.