Beauty Revealed
| Beauty Revealed | |
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| Artist | Sarah Goodridge |
| Year | 1828 |
| Type | watercolor on ivory |
| Dimensions | 6.7 cm × 8 cm (2.6 in × 3.1 in) |
| Location | Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, United States |
| Accession | 2006.235.74 |
Beauty Revealed is an 1828 self-portrait by the American artist Sarah Goodridge, painted in miniature with watercolors on a piece of ivory. Depicting the artist's bared breasts surrounded by pale cloth, the 6.7-by-8-centimetre (2.6 by 3.1 in) painting – originally on a paper backing – is set in a modern case. Goodridge, aged forty when she completed the miniature, depicts breasts which appear imbued with a "balance, paleness, and buoyancy" by the harmony of light, color, and balance. The surrounding cloth draws the viewer to focus on them, leading to the body being "erased".
Goodridge gave the portrait to statesman Daniel Webster, who was a frequent subject and possibly a lover, following the death of his wife; she may have intended to provoke him into marrying her. Although Webster married someone else, his family held onto the portrait until the 1980s, when it was auctioned at Christie's and acquired by Gloria and Richard Manney in 1981. The couple donated or sold the miniatures of their art collection, including Beauty Revealed, to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2006.
Beauty Revealed is a self-portrait by Sarah Goodridge, depicting her bared breasts, pink nipples, and a beauty mark. These are presented in a gradation of color, giving a three-dimensional effect. Although Goodridge was aged forty when she painted this miniature, according to art critic Chris Packard her breasts seem younger, with a "balance, paleness, and buoyancy" which is imbued in part by the harmony of light, color, and balance. The breasts are framed by a swirl of pale cloth, which in parts reflects the light.
The 6.7-by-8-centimetre (2.6 by 3.1 in) painting is set in a case; it had originally been installed on a paper backing which had the date "1828" on the reverse. The work is a watercolor painting on ivory, thin enough for light to shine through and thus allow the depicted breasts to "glow". This medium was common for American miniatures, but in this case also served as a simile for the flesh presented upon it.
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