"Corcos not only portrays the young woman with great naturalness and adherence to reality, but also makes her assume a very unusual pose, which denotes confidence with the painter and which aims to strike the observer. The girl is sitting with extreme ease on a bench, on which she has placed her wide-brimmed straw hat, three books and her walking umbrella. Resting her head on her hand, she looks straight into the observer's eyes, with confidence. Her legs are crossed, in a position that, at the time, was not considered decorous." https://www.finestresullarte.info/operadelgiorno/2017/644-vittorio-corcos-sogni.php
Vittorio Matteo Corcos, Sogni (Dreams), 1896 (Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna, Rome). A portrait of Elena Vecchi, daughter of the writer Augusto Vecchi, a friend of the artist. A sensation at the time for candid and direct portrayal of a modern, independent young woman. #arthistory #ottocento