Claude-Marie Dubufe, The Surprise

This young woman appears to have been startled by something – she turns towards an unseen disturbance to the right and clasps her blouse to her chest. Although Dubufe was well known as a portraitist of the French aristocracy, the identity of this woman is unknown. Her state of semi-undress suggests that this picture was not intended to depict a particular person, but may instead have been based on a model.

Dubufe has based the woman’s pose on a famous Greek marble sculpture from the first century BC, known as the Medici Venus. It shows the goddess with her head positioned towards the right and her right arm clutched to her chest. Unlike the woman in this painting, the sculpted Venus is completely nude.

The plain, dark background emphasises the woman’s porcelain white skin and her flushed pink cheeks, and her striking amber-coloured eyes glow in the warm light. The smooth skin of her face and neck was created with feathery brushstrokes of pink, white and subtle blue tones, while thicker layers of paint give her arms a sense of three-dimensionality. Fine, delicate brushstrokes make up her glossy black hair, with bright highlights to show the reflection of light.

Some pentimenti can be seen in this picture – Dubufe has made the woman’s right shoulder slightly wider than was originally planned, painting over some of the background paint with a pale flesh tone. This painting was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1828.