COTES, Francis
(b. 1726, London, d. 1770, London)

Portrait of Martha Seymer as Modesty

1755-60
Oil on canvas, 76 x 64 cm
Private collection

The pose of the sitter is taken from the Venus Pudica which has its origin in classical times and which was used in the Renaissance. The pose seems to have had a renewed popularity in the period 1755-65, and was used, inter aliis, by Sir Joshua Reynolds, Thomas Beech, and Thomas Gainsborough.