Emma Hart (1765–1815), as Miranda 1786

Curator: Here we have George Romney's oil on canvas, "Emma Hart (1765–1815), as Miranda," painted in 1786. Editor: Her expression! Lost in reverie, head tilted, fiery red hair...she feels intensely romantic, doesn’t she? Almost otherworldly. Curator: Indeed. The portrait encapsulates elements of Romanticism, focusing on emotion and individual subjectivity. Romney captures Emma Hart, later Lady Hamilton, portraying her as Miranda from Shakespeare’s *The Tempest*. Editor: So she's embodying a character...I suppose that accounts for the dreamy, detached air. It's interesting how Romney uses light—it really spotlights her face, draws you right in. The rest kind of dissolves, focusing attention on the countenance. Curator: Precisely. Note also the use of sfumato, particularly around the edges of her face and hair. This technique, characterized by subtle gradations, adds to the overall ethereal quality you mentioned earlier. Editor: There's an unfinished quality too, isn't there? Around her shoulders, it looks almost like a sketch, not a finished piece. Makes me feel like I’m catching her in a private moment. It seems very immediate, so spontaneous. Curator: The artist appears to have employed relatively loose brushwork. Although deemed unfinished by some observers, one could easily assert that this choice of style deliberately augments that sensation of movement, flux. The very spirit of Romanticism rejects traditional, ridged definitions of perfection. Editor: It works, absolutely. But it’s a departure. He captures vulnerability so vividly. Makes me wonder what Emma Hart, or Lady Hamilton as she was better known, felt herself, posing as this character. I find myself inventing narratives… Curator: An inherent property of the medium; works such as this, that consciously reject absolute fidelity to their subject. Very well; anything else about this one, that especially sticks in your memory? Editor: How effectively the formal composition works, and what a wonderful insight to this legendary woman during this exact time, when the artist briefly stole her to preserve something true in her presence! Curator: An altogether enlightening assessment; thank you.