Rosalba Carriera

Who was Rosalba Carriera?

Rosalba Carriera was a Venetian Rococo painter. In her younger years, she specialized in portrait miniatures. She later became known for her pastel work, a medium appealing to Rococo styles for its soft edges and flattering surfaces.

In Prideaux Place, Padstow, Cornwall, there is a charming portrait by Carriera of Humphrey Prideaux, the archetypal gentry son pictured on his "Grand Tour," in which a love-letter from Carriera to the sitter is reputed to have been hidden behind the frame. She had many male friends and many aristocratic admirers of her talent.