After Romney

acrylic on postcard

14.8 x 10.4 cm

size in frame: 25.6 x 21.2 cm

Using acrylic on a postcard, I have altered George Romney’s portrait of Mrs Mary Robinson in the Wallace Collection. Making a few small changes, I have made what was a sensitive serene depiction of the celebrated 18th century writer and actor, into a rather more ambigious and sinister scene of an anonymous woman.

To elevate the postcard support and to somewhat disguise the painted additions, I made a frame using a richly ornate moulding which vaguely imitates a frame from the period that might have be used for a society portrait. As well as being an artist, I am an Old Master researcher, and it interests me to play with art in this way.

Reference Image:

George Romney (1734–1802), Mrs Mary Robinson, 1780–1781, oil on canvas, 75.7 x 63.2 cm, Wallace Collection — George Romney (1734–1802), *Mrs Mary Robinson,* 1780–1781, oil on canvas, 75.7 x 63.2 cm, Wallace Collection