Before the first ball

The painting depicts an intimate scene between two women – presumably mother and daughter – in a sparsely furnished interior. The mother sits facing her daughter and attaches a rose to her bodice, while both look towards the viewer. Precious fabrics, fine ruffles and fashionable details such as the daughter's powdered hairstyle are carefully rendered; environmental elements such as the small dog or the dressing table, on the other hand, remain sketchy. The pastel-like colouring, the differentiated rendering of fabrics and the loose brushwork lend the depiction an elegant lightness and a restrained, dreamy sentiment. In terms of composition, the great distance from the viewer is as striking as the absence of classical repoussoirs. This ‘emptiness’ may be related to the possibly unfinished state of the work, as well as the absence of a signature. That aside, due to its characteristics, the work is now attributed to Alexander Roslin (1718–1793), who worked in Paris from around 1750 and became one of the most successful portrait painters of the European aristocracy. Earlier attributions to Jean-Étienne Liotard and Johann Anton de Peters are now considered outdated. Stylistic comparisons with confirmed works by Roslin from this period support the current attribution.