Basic Information

Historical Context

This watercolor portrait depicts a fashionable upper-class woman. Zorn painted numerous society watercolor portraits in the 1880s-1890s, celebrated for their elegance and precision. Content Description A young woman in profile facing right. Auburn/reddish-blonde hair in an updo with soft bangs. Simple silver hairpin with grooved pattern. Pale luminous complexion, eyes downcast. Dark brown fur collar/stole. Gray-blue garment beneath. Art Nouveau decorative background of swirling organic patterns in blue-gray and warm beige. Signed "ZORN." Artistic Analysis This watercolor showcases multiple aspects of Zorn's technique -- wet-on-wet for atmospheric effects, precise detail for hairpin and facial features, soft tonal gradations. The "Zorn Palette" in watercolor: blue, yellow-ochre, and red-brown. The profile format has classical dignity; the Art Nouveau background patterns echo the figure's curves.