George James, active from 1755–died 1795, British
Title:
A Whole Length of a Lady of Petrella, in the Kingdom of Naples
Date:
Exhibited 1762
Materials & Techniques:
Oil on canvas
Dimensions:
76 x 59 1/2 inches (193 x 151.1 cm)
Credit Line:
Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Fund
Copyright Status:
Public Domain
Accession Number:
B2012.18.2
Gallery Label:
George James studied painting in Italy during the 1750s, returning to London in 1760. He exhibited this painting of an unknown Neapolitan woman at the Free Society of Artists in London two years later. Foreign customs and costumes encountered on the Grand Tour were a source of fascination for British travelers. The averted eyes of the woman allowed viewers to gaze upon her foreign attire voyeuristically. The Eucharistic procession in the background accentuates the foreignness of the scene, as Catholicism was still proscribed in Britain. Gallery label for A Decade of Gifts and Acquisitions (Yale Center for British Art, 2017-06-01 - 2017-08-13)
