John Jennings, Esq. with his Brother and Sister-in-Law, 1769, by Alexander Roslin. Masterful rendering of hands, not to mention of velvet, satin, lace, and embroidered waistcoat.
On Commons, I like to add the {{Artwork}} template (and its sub-templates) to paintings and develop their data records. I also like to categorize images and sometimes develop new categories and cross-references to other categories. I don't upload much, as I haven't the patience. I like working at Commons because even the smallest edit truly contributes something to creating an unparalleled reference depository for posterity. And no one complains or argues about it!
I am engaged in a long-term project to develop the data records for Sir Thomas Lawrence's paintings on Commons. For example, I have entered extensive details for File:Portrait of Catherine Gray, Lady Manners, by Thomas Lawrence.jpg, as well as edited the image itself to de-skew, crop, and adjust colors. But I am easily distracted sometimes and go off on tangents working on other ideas.
Lady Selina Meade (1797–1872), later Countess Clam-Martinic, 1819, by Sir Thomas Lawrence. Painted in Vienna, with the Stephansdom in the background. Portraits reflect prevailing notions of beauty of their times, and a long, "swan-like" neck was considered graceful during this period. Lawrence consequently elongates the necks of many of the ladies he paints.
William I, first King of the Netherlands, when Prince of Orange, wearing the Prussian Order of the Black Eagle circa 1805-1810, by an unknown German pastellist
Charles Coote, 1st Earl of Bellomont (1738–1800), wearing the Robes of the Order of the Bath, 1773, by Joshua Reynolds. The robes are red, but the paint has faded. No other KB ever posed actually wearing the plumed hat.
Lucia Wijbrants (1638-1719), 1667, by Gabriël Metsu. Exquisite gold lace, brocade, Persian carpet, silver objects, books, and a yippy little dog: these convey not mere wealth but luxury in a comfortable interior, giving an impression of a formidable lady of refinement and learning.
Madame de Pompadour, 1756, by François Boucher. Lush rendering of a perhaps more approachable lady of refinement and learning in a luxurious interior (complete with a yippy little dog), about a century later. I have long loved this painting, not only for the pose and furnishings, but for the palpable texture of the taffeta, and wondered why Boucher's other paintings don't convey the same beauty in fabrics. It turns out that Roslin (top, the painter I have recently discovered), who was well known for his skill as a "stuff" (fabric) painter, assisted Boucher by painting the dress. Perhaps the collaboration is the cause of her head's being disproportionately small.
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