Thomas LawrenceBritish, 1769–1830Isabella Wolff
May one see it?
Yes, receiving visitors
Chicago, United States
On public display.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the painting
Produced over the course of 12 years, this portrait depicts Isabella Wolff, one of Sir Thomas Lawrence’s most intimate friends, contemplating a printed image of the Delphic Sibyl from Michelangelo’s famous Sistine Chapel ceiling. Wolff’s serpentine pose cleverly echoes another Sibyl from that same work. The Sibyls were priestesses of Classical legend who made enigmatic judgments and prophecies. They were often pictured according to Western fantasies of the Near East, hence Wolff’s elaborate turban here. Lawrence was famed for his ability to evoke the surface effects and textures of clothing; that talent is on full display in Wolff’s shimmering satin gown.
Art Institute of ChicagoCC BY 4.0
Particulars
- Accession number
- 1922.4461
What it shows
In the catalog
Sources
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Image: Art Institute of Chicago — CC0
Meanwhile, in the life of Thomas Lawrence
The whole life1800s
A witness in the “Delicate Investigation” into the Princess
The King commissions portraits of his daughter-in-law Caroline, the estranged wife of the Prince of Wales, and of his granddaughter Charlotte; while painting them Lawrence stays at Montagu House, the princess’s residence in Blackheath, and becomes implicated in the “delicate investigation” into Caroline’s morals. He swears an affidavit that although he had sometimes been alone with her the door was never locked or bolted, and, expertly defended by Spencer Perceval, he is exonerated.
from 1802
The studio: assistants for replicas of his portraits
To keep up with the demand for replicas of his portraits, Lawrence employs studio assistants: Samuel Lane works for him from 1802 until the master’s death, and the assistants also include William Etty and George Henry Harlow.
1803
Meeting Isabella Wolff
Isabella, wife of the Danish consul Jens Wolff, sits for her portrait and becomes one of the two women who provide Lawrence with companionship, along with his friend Elizabeth Croft; in 1810 she separates from her husband. Lawrence was famed for the time he took over his paintings: Isabella waits twelve years for her portrait to be finished.
