Reverse Glass Portrait

With its sparkling color and folk art appeal, this reverse glass painting of a young woman makes a delightful accent to a bedroom or study. Thought to have developed during the Italian Renaissance, reverse glass painting spread throughout Europe and remained popular for centuries. During the Qing Dynasty, Chinese emperors became fascinated with Western art forms and encouraged court artists to practice this unusual technique. Using fine brushes, an artist worked backwards to create this portrait on glass, first painting the minute details of the facial features and patterns, then filling in the larger blocks of color seen in the woman’s garment.