s this what Jane Austen really looked like? Newly discovered sketch could be lost portrait of 19th century novelist
The author of a forthcoming biography on Jane Austen believes she has unearthed a previously undiscovered portrait of the novelist.
Dr Paula Byrne was midway through her new book when her husband surprised her with a portrait of a female writer bought at auction, according to the Christmas Radio Times.
She spotted the long, straight 'Austen nose' seen in images of the writer's father and brothers, and enlisted the help of a team of experts and the BBC to test her as yet unproven thesis that the woman is the famous author, who died in 1817 aged 41.
Thoughts?
God Bless,
It could be Jane Austen I suppose but this lady is wearing quite a lot of ornaments (rings, necklace, belt buckle, decoratively trimmed cap), a lot more than I'd think of our Miss Austen wearing. Also there's the question of composition, why place the figure in front of the open window with a specific church tower in the background? It's difficult to tell who could have afforded to commissioned such a portrait, one of her brothers perhaps? Otherwise I could most readily believe that this is an "Austen nose". :)
ReplyDeleteIf it was Miss Austen, would not she be sitting at her writing desk?
ReplyDelete(The portable one that her father gave her, that is.)
ReplyDeleteI,peronally,don't think there is a lot of similarity to other portraits of Jane Austen,but that may be just me.
ReplyDelete