Louis Priou mostly painted beautiful women, whether cavorting with cherubs in lush gardens or in idealized classical portraits. This highly detailed, very accomplished painting is unusual in that it is a portrait of a particular woman – “Mrs. Guinouard in Her Private Lounge.” On the front of the painting, above his signature, Priou has written in paint: “to my dear friend J. L. Guionouard” – presumably, the husband of the pretty young wife here as painted in her home. The detail in her face is astonishing; almost to the level that only paintings on ceramic can capture (it is painted on a wood panel). There are so few painters in the modern age that can work in this way anymore. These personal portraits always touch me, because this was once someone’s beloved wife, now gone and probably forgotten even by her descendants. But we have this charming record of her in the flower of her womanhood. 27" x 22" (18" x 13" without frame).