The self-taught artist Louis-Léopold Boilly achieved an almost inconceivable sharpness in his painting. The costume of the sitter is rendered with meticulous care. Portraits often served as a social marker in a dual sense. Here, the subject’s outfit shows that she was fashion-conscious and wealthy enough to buy the finest materials; and at the same time, she could clearly afford to engage a portraitist capable of conveying that fact.