The Amazon

More Information

This work belongs to a series of ideal female heads that Hunt painted in the 1870s, often as demonstration pieces for students attending his popular art school in Boston. The painting may have offered a lesson in how to depict a forceful, vigorous character; its title is a term used in Hunt’s time to describe a tall, aggressive woman. Hunt heightened the dramatic effect of the image by casting the woman’s eyes into deep shadow and highlighting her skin with flaming red paint.

Keywords

American
Profile
Hat
Female
Oil painting
Portrait