This impressive picture is a curious mix of the formal and the informal. The large scale of the painting, the romantic setting, the monumental effect of the full-length standing figure seen from a low viewpoint and the inclusion of a sprig of orange blossom in the lady’s hands would all tend to suggest a formal marriage portrait. Yet there is a casual air about it too. Despite the addition of a few flowers, the hair is in a state of undress by the standards of the times and she wears a diaphanous peignoir which, fortunately, does not conceal the superb silver brocade of her gown. This silk brocade, a tour de force of the painter’s skill, is rendered in such detail that the fabric would be identifiable should a piece happen to have survived.