Mrs. Thomas Scott Jackson
A young woman with smooth, pale skin wearing a fog-gray gown stands in shadowy outdoor setting in this vertical portrait painting. Her body faces our right almost in profile. Her head turns toward us though she looks off to our left with brown eyes under arched brows. Auburn-brown hair frames her heart-shaped face, which has a slender nose over closed, coral-red lips and a dimpled chin. Her long, curly hair is gathered at the back of her head and tied with a sand-brown ribbon. Long tendrils hang down her shoulders and back. Her iridescent gown has a deep neckline and a wide, harvest-gold sash around her waist with matching bands on the upper arms. A shimmering, laurel-green cape bordered in gold falls from her shoulders in deep folds down her back. The woman has pulled some of the cape forward with both hands to hang down her left side, farther from us. She wears delicate, translucent pearl bracelets on one wrist, and steps forward on silvery-gray shoes under the dress’s long hem. Bright light falls across the scene from the upper left so much of the background is in shadow. A stone wall behind the woman spans the right half of the painting. A tree grows up along its leftmost edge, just beyond the woman’s shoulders. A landscape along the left third of the composition opens onto trees under a sky filled with thick, off-white and steel-gray clouds.
Details
- Palette
-
Select a color to find related artworks.
- Medium
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- overall: 239 x 147 cm (94 1/8 x 57 7/8 in.)
- Department
- CAB
- Holding institution
- National Gallery of Art
- Image provider
- national-gallery-of-art
- License
- CC0-1.0
- Credit
- Andrew W. Mellon Collection
Art Genome Taxonomy
7 tags
Subject Matter
-
Individual Portrait Both · 99%
The National Gallery of Art catalogs the work as a portrait of Mrs. Thomas Scott Jackson, and the image visibly presents one identifiable sitter at full length.
-
Figures in Nature Both · 98%
The sitter stands outdoors among trees, with an open landscape and cloudy sky at the left and a stone wall behind her.
-
Related to Fashion Both · 94%
The image prominently displays the sitter’s formal gown, cape, sash, arm bands, styled hair, and bracelets; the catalog description likewise emphasizes these elements of dress and adornment.
Visual Qualities
-
Dark Colors Visual · 93%
The wooded background and much of the right side are rendered in deep brown, green, and near-black tones, contrasted with the pale gown and illuminated skin.
Medium and Techniques
-
Oil Painting Both · 99%
The catalog identifies the medium as oil on canvas, and the image visibly shows a painted surface with modeled figure, fabric, and landscape.
-
Chiaroscuro Visual · 94%
Bright illumination on the sitter contrasts sharply with the deeply shadowed woodland and right side of the composition, producing pronounced light-dark modeling.
Time Periods
-
18th Century Art Metadata · 99%
The catalog dates the work to c. 1770/1773, placing it in the eighteenth century.
Source & rights
George Romney. Mrs. Thomas Scott Jackson. Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington.