OPEN TODAY: 10 A.M.–5 P.M.

Tickets

Paintings

Penelope (Pitt), Viscountess Ligonier

Type
Paintings(Opens in new tab)
Date
1770
Accession number
11.29
Maker
Thomas Gainsborough(Opens in new tab) (British, 1727–1788)
Sitter
Sitter: Penelope (Pitt), Viscountess Ligonier(Opens in new tab) (British, born 1749)
Dimensions
94 1/2 x 61 3/4 in. (240 x 156.8 cm.)
Medium
oil on canvas
Description
Lady Ligonier is portrayed in full-length standing at center on a terrace. She leans her left elbow on a carved pedestal supporting a bronze dancing nymph. In the background is a deep-rose curtain disclosing a clouded sky and wooded landscape.
Credit
The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens
Department
European Art
Find out more
View in the Art Museum catalog(Opens in new tab)
Artistic tools and sculptures surround Lady Ligonier, suggesting her cultural sophistication. However, beyond this aspect of refinement, Gainsborough has represented Lady Ligonier, with her hip thrust outward, in a pose of great self-confidence and with more swagger than her husband, whose companion portrait hangs nearby.

You might also be interested in