Lady Hamilton as ‘Serena’ Reading a Newspaper
George Romney was utterly captivated by his muse, Emma Hamilton, painting her over sixty times as she rose from a model to a society icon. Here, she appears as the character 'Serena', dressed in a simple white gown and large bonnet, holding a newspaper with a look of gentle surprise. The loose, sketchy brushstrokes give the portrait a sense of immediacy, as if we've just caught her reading the morning news. This intimate style captures the natural beauty that made Hamilton the toast of London and the eventual mistress of Admiral Lord Nelson.
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