Portrait of a Married Couple in the Park, Gonzales Coques (attributed to)
Link is to zoomable version on Google Art Project; downloadable file on Wikimedia Commons; original is in the Staatliche Museum, Berlin.
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The portrait of the man has considerably more force and presence than that of the woman, leading me to think that it was he who commissioned the portrait, and he who the artist was trying to please with the painting.
The woman’s gown, however, seems to have captured the artist’s attention, along with the rendering of both subjects’ hands.
Link: Portrait of a Married Couple in the Park, Google Art Project
I can’t help but keep looking at the woman’s gown. Incredible treatment of the fabric and bead work. But don’t you always wonder–was there any way to clean those kind of clothes??
Stephanie – I don’t know if this might apply to the place and period of this painting but I read a number of years ago that opera houses spray their elaborate gowns after each performance with vodka. I suppose the idea there is to eliminate perspiration odor at least.
Definitely eye candy to me too.
Coques (Cock), who was a Belgian citizen, was also nicknamed the Little Van Dyke for his influence of Anthony van Dyke.
That was a bright idea, his collaboration with specialist artists.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cock_%28surname%29