| MY HOMEPAGE | MY SITE MAP | MY HOST SITE (Thanks!) |
"Countess Schouvalof, Elizabeth Vladmirovna"
by Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun
Previous Portrait
Next Portrait
Copyright held by the Utah Museum of Fine Arts
The Countess wears a rather high plain round gown of red. Two brightly printed blue-grounded shawls form the sash and turban headdress. A third shawl, with only a small printed border, but likely much larger in size, is draped around the Countess. The sash is more towards the normal waist than is typical of the era. This could be a vogue of the time of the portrait sitting (periodically little variations in waist, train, and neck became fashionable) or could indicate a more conservative dress. The necklace of heavy links is one of the many pieces in fashion in the late 1790s and early 1800s that were supposed to imitate Greek, Roman, and medieval jewelry--compare to the necklaces featured in the August 1800 issue and the July 1801 issue of the Lady's Magazine.