Italian school; XVIII century. "Portrait of a lady". Oil on canvas. Relined. Presents restorations, repainting, paint jumps and dirt. Measurements: 40 x 29 cm; 54 x 43 cm (frame). In this work the model is facing the viewer, although she turns her face to the right, avoiding the gaze of the observer and looking for something in the distance, which is in the outer margins of the painting. The lady, who stands out for the warmth of the tone that is imbued in a great darkness, stands out for the looseness of her gesture and the lack of rigidity in her clothing, thus implying that it is an ephemeral moment that has been captured by the author. As in the rest of Europe, the portrait became in the eighteenth century the leading genre par excellence of French painting, as a result of the new social structures that were implemented in the Western world throughout this century, embodying the ultimate expression of the transformation of taste and mentality of the new clientele, emerged between the nobility and the wealthy gentry, who would take the reins of history in this period. While official circles gave preponderance to other artistic genres, such as history painting, and the incipient collecting encouraged the profusion of costume paintings, portraiture monopolized the demand for painting destined for the more private sphere, as a reflection of the value of the individual in the new society. This genre embodies the permanent presence of the image of its protagonists, to be enjoyed in the intimacy of a studio, in the daily warmth of a family cabinet or presiding over the main rooms of the house. Dimensions 40 x 29 cm; 54 x 43 cm (frame).