Monsieur et madame de Thelluson, by Liotard, 1760

An absolutely charming pair of pastel portraits, perfect examples of Liotard's work. The particular blue** that he used so frequently is quite prominent here. Both portraits are quite wonderful in their own right - the lively expressions, full of wit; the precise, elegant detail; the bright and harmonious coloration - but seen together they are all that much more. Their gaze quite clearly states their warm admiration and enjoyment of one another - these portraits were taken in the year of their marriage - and it's a delightful intimacy they share.

Julie Marguerite de Thellusson, née Ployard (1740-1820).

Isaac-Louis de Thellusson, Seigneur de la Gara (1727-1801).
The long locks of his powdered hair have been put up at the back of his head with a comb, an arrangement I haven't seen in any other portrait; to
keep the powder off of his fine embroidered silk dressing gown, I presume? A small, charming detail:  both his ring and her bracelet - a framed
miniature on a black ribbon, actually - contain tiny portraits. It would probably be safe to assume that they are images of their new spouses.

** If I knew the names of colors, as I should, I could tell you the actual name of this particular blue. It's a strange void in my "font of useless information" - as my father used to call his own cache of such fairly superfluous knowledge - this inability to rattle off all the specific varieties of ochres and crimsons and umbers. Alizarin, cerulean, madder, aureolin; you see how the names of colors are really quite wonderful...?