Limoge Enamel Landscape Plaque by P Bonnet

Oil on canvas Portrait of a gentleman 18th century Measures: Portrait framed 56 x 43 and 51 x 38.5.

MARK HOUGHTON URBAN GLITTER, 2023 Acrylic on linen on wooden panel 75 x 57 x 5cm Series: Urban Glitter Signed & dated verso All rights, the artist.

These elegant enamel plaques was painted in Limoges, a town in the south-west of France. While Limoges was highly regarded for its painted enamel wares in the 15th Century, in the following periods there was a decline in production. In the mid-19th Century, however, items like this pair began to be created, reviving the techniques of enamel painting that were perfected in the medieval period. The plaques depict two women, both with wavy blonde shoulder-length hair, and similar facial features. The women may be sisters, possibly even twins. One woman wears a pale pink dress...

The beautiful enamel plaque was crafted in Limoges, a town in northern France. Limoges has long been associated with the production of high quality enamel wares. While to begin with, in the 12th Century, the town was famous for its applied enamel pieces, religious icons, for example, which were crafted in metal with champlevé enamel ornament, Limoges later, in the 15th century, began to paint onto enamel, creating plaques, plates and ewers, which were both religious and secular in character. These local techniques were revived in the mid-19th century, when items like this enamel portrait painting were produced. This enamel portrait is a half-length depiction of a young woman. While her body is faced slightly to the side, she turns her head to look out directly at the viewer. The woman wears a fine, light pink gown...