Technical Notes
The painting’s primary support is a plain-weave canvas. The threads are of irregular thickness. The thread counts average fourteen per centimeter vertically and thirteen per centimeter horizontally. There is cusping along all four edges. The white ground is evenly applied in a moderately thick layer that nearly obscures the canvas texture.

The artist applied the paint thinly with little or no impasto. The shadows consist of thin layers of reddish-brown paint. In rendering the coat, the artist seems to have used a wet-on-wet technique to add highlights to the underlying brown paint; the edges of the coat show some blending. Brushwork is visible in the sitter’s hair. The background appears to have been painted up to the figure. White highlights and finer details were included as the painting neared completion.

An X-radiograph clearly shows that the paint used for the face contains a substantial amount of lead white, and it also reveals that the wig was at first slightly longer than it now appears. The paint surface and brushwork suggest that this change was made at an early stage, probably by the artist.

There are minimal scattered losses, including some along a horizontal mend in the bottom area of the canvas. Slight abrasion, probably the result of past cleaning, appears in the dark areas.

Conservation records indicate that the present varnish layers consist of PVA coatings, applied in 1970. Although no record has been found concerning more recent coatings, it appears that the painting was revarnished after 1970. The varnish layer is moderately thick and is in fair condition.

Frame Notes
The frame, which may be original, consists of a gilded, carved softwood molding. The mitered corners have cross-spline construction. The bole color is yellow throughout, and the frame’s back panel is not gilded. The frame contains a central band of sandwork, bordered by a chip-carved foliate sight edge, a wider outer section of carved flower, and a vine ornament with a screen-pattern background. The back edge contains a shallow-carved petal ornament.