Girl in a Blue Dress

In 1749 the imperial picture gallery in Vienna bought this small painting straight from the man who made it. That same year Empress Maria Theresa named Christian Seybold her chamber painter. No name comes with the girl, and the title only describes what she wears. Seybold painted her on a sheet of copper about 40 centimetres high, a smooth support that let him take detail very far. Look at the powdered hair, combed back in fine silvery strands and tied with pale blue ribbons, and at the sheen of the blue gown where it folds over her shoulder. A pearl drop hangs from a jewel pinned into that fold, just below a crisp white collar.