Mrs. Robinson as Perdita 1774 - 1784

Curator: There’s a dreamlike quality to this piece. Editor: Absolutely. This is "Mrs. Robinson as Perdita" by Richard Cosway, created between 1774 and 1784. It’s a watercolor and graphite drawing and print, currently residing here at the Metropolitan Museum. The pastel shades give it such an airy presence. Curator: Yes, the symbolism within the garden setting hints at something deeper. Perdita was the daughter of King Leontes in Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale who was abandoned at birth. I can’t help but consider Mrs. Robinson’s choice to be portrayed as this character in a period when she was beginning her own acting career, not entirely on her own terms. Editor: That's a critical point. Her very public role as a woman in the arts opened her up to very harsh and demeaning public attention and commentary. Choosing the symbolism of Perdita here feels less about her acting capabilities and more like a declaration. Despite public opinion and speculation, she is her own person with her own unique and sovereign narrative. Curator: The bridge in the background is a symbol of transition, and the dog can be a symbol of loyalty. What do you make of how those intersect? Editor: Right; I see that not only as a signal of her transformation but also how loyalty, and faithfulness for a woman like Mary Robinson would mean one thing when performed in front of a stage, but would mean another when measured in public sentiment. Cosway cleverly acknowledges that through placing the allegorical reference as scenery behind the sitter. Curator: I also wonder how contemporaries perceived Cosway’s Romantic style and the portrayal of women in these paintings. Do you think they captured the spirit of the time? Editor: I do, but I think Cosway's genius really came from a sharp awareness of the male gaze, which was often an audience that Robinson was all too familiar with. By depicting Robinson as Perdita, an infant abandoned and left to navigate an unfamiliar terrain, I sense a certain element of melancholy in both the figure, and her situation, which must not have been missed by contemporary viewers. Curator: Indeed, and those multilayered elements are so cleverly incorporated, they allow a more nuanced portrait than many from this time period. Editor: I agree, this piece transcends portraiture of that era and dares us to interpret not only the symbolism, but the subject and maker’s emotional complexities.