Miss Kitty Fischer

Richard Purcell  after Sir Joshua Reynolds

Miss Kitty Fischer

London, ca 1760

Mezzotint

355 x 250 mm

Slight surface rubbing

£180

A half-length portrait,  facing front, arms folded and leaning on the table before her with a letter, wearing large lace sleeves and pearls at her neck

Kitty Fischer was the daughter of a German,celebrated for her wit and beauty. She was a reigning toast for many years of the London demi-monde, and was frequqntly painted by Reynolds. Her fame spread throughout Europe. When he visited London in 1763, the famous Italian lover Giacomo Casanova  She married  Mr. Norris, son of  John Norris Esq. M.P. for Rye, in 1766. She died in 1771, it is said from the effects of  using lead based cosmetics