A Nobleman kissing a Lady's Hand
- Artist: Pietro Longhi
- Date: about 1746
- Medium: oil on canvas
- Museum: The National Gallery
- Collection record: The National Gallery website
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About this artwork
This is the "A Nobleman kissing a Lady's Hand" painted in the mid-18th century by Pietro Longhi. The painting captures a scene of elegance and refinement, set against a backdrop of vibrant textiles. A Venetian nobleman is seen bowing to a young girl, about to kiss her hand.
The contrast between the elegant white dress of the girl and the vivid green patterned damask is striking. The artist has also introduced intrigue with the presence of several characters in the scene. There's a male servant waiting patiently to serve a drink, and a woman who lingers beside the girl - perhaps her mother.
She holds an offering of a pink flower, which may symbolise the girl's beauty or purity. Longhi often included amorous or comical undertones in his works, which were typical of the lives and customs he specialised in capturing during the 1730s and 1740s. This painting is a beautiful example of that, frozen in time on canvas using oil.
See it in person
A Nobleman kissing a Lady's Hand hangs in The National Gallery on Trafalgar Square, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
