Lady with Flower Basket

In this miniature Campana attempted a portrayal unusual in his oeuvre: the model is depicted outdoors against some trees,looking longingly into the distance. In doing so the painter abstained from specifying the foreground of the natural scenery, leaving this to the viewer’s imagination. The backdrop is only outlined briefly showing a patch of blue sky and a dark, indistinctly structured area, suggesting trees. In accordance with Campana’s painting style, face and hair are rendered in glazing dots and strokes, finely accentuated by the use of a scraper, but the background here is created in gouache colours.

The lady directed her eyes longingly and not without pathos towards the sky. The object of her thoughts is easily guessed: she is missing her beloved. The light chemise dress has slid down, exposing a perfect breast. She is holding a basket of flowers in her arms; apparently she has just picked them while thinking of hours spent together. The work demonstrates impressively that miniature painting allowed for unusually intimate presentations, due to the personal use of the portrait.

B. P.