Portrait Of A Barefoot Girl With Violin After Charles Sillem Lidderdale Appraisal

Portrait of a Barefoot Girl with Violin after Charles Sillem Lidderdale

An oil on canvas painting measuring approximately 120cm x 90cm, this work is a contemporary or late 20th-century interpretation of the Victorian Romanticist style, specifically evocative of Charles Sillem Lidderdale. The composition features a young girl with voluminous, dark curly hair seated on a stone ledge. She is barefoot and dressed in layered, rustic Victorian attire, including a textured brown skirt and a patterned shawl with reddish hues. She holds a violin and bow across her lap, hands gently clasped. The background consists of a soft, nebulous sky with muted greys and off-whites, creating a melancholic atmospheric effect. The brushwork appears deliberate with a smooth finish on the skin tones and more textured applications on the shawl. Condition-wise, the work appears well-preserved with no visible craquelure, flaking, or significant structural damage, though there is a small dark spot on the lower skirt that may be an intentional shadow or a minor localized stain. The piece is housed in a dark brown wooden frame with a decorative beaded or rope-twist inner border. While styled to look antique, the vibrancy of the pigments and the specific handling of the facial features suggest a modern creation or a high-quality artist's copy intended to capture 19th-century sentimental aesthetics.