Portrait Of An Unknown Woman Novels & Stories

Would they feel disappointed after having paid so much for it? The first commission that I had decided to work on was a portrait of a young woman who apparently was the only daughter of one of Hayden’s business partners. She had requested for a realistic portrait of herself based on a photograph where she posed formally in a light pink and very elegant gown. Her chestnut brown hair was piled up on top of her head elegantly and decorated with pink roses. Overall, it was a very elegant and sweet portrait.

“I’m going to take a shower. You’re still sleeping. I didn’t want to disturb you.” “Hmm.” He tucked my hair behind my ear. “What a lovely face you have. You remind me of Pierre Joseph Cooman’s ‘Portrait of A Young Woman.’” I giggled. “Who is that?” “A noted painter in the 19th century. He has paintings of landscapes, historical subjects, and beautiful women. One particular portrait reminds me of your face. She looks like you.” I blushed, no one had ever made me feel so self-conscious before, and I was beginning to get annoyed by it myself. Liam would probably think I was so easy to please. Though, I was actually more surprised by his knowledge and love for the arts.

I heard a scraping sound, and I turned my head to see Robert picking up a stack of small portraits from one of the iron boxes in the corner. “What are those?” I ask. He’s staring at one of the pictures, and when I go peek over his shoulder, my face instantly feels hot, and I look away. “That’s p**n! The medieval version of it, anyway.” The red-haired woman is posing in a rather sultry manner, scantily clad. The painting is amateurish in nature. “Will you stop gawking at it?!” I blurted at Robert. “She looks like me!”

It stood open, inviting her forward. The corridor beyond stretched long and carpeted, a faded rug softening her steps. Portraits lined the walls, smaller than the grand canvases she had discovered before. These were not ceremonial or formal. They were intimate. One showed a woman seated beside a window, a book open on her lap, her finger marking a page. Another held a woman beside a piano, her smile caught just before laughter. A third portrayed a woman at a writing desk, candlelight reflected in her dark eyes.

I hear a scraping sound, and I turn my head to see Robert picking up a stack of small portraits from one of the iron boxes in the corner. “What are those?” I ask. He’s staring at one of the pictures, and when I go peek over his shoulder, my face instantly feels hot, and I look away. “That’s p**n! The medieval version of it, anyway.” The red-haired woman is posing in a rather sultry manner, scantily clad. The painting is amateurish in nature. “Will you stop gawking at it?!” I blurt at Robert. “She looks like me!” “I know,” Robert replies, his voice strange. “There are more.”

It's the only one that really stands out in terms of details. The frame contains a detailed drawing of a woman—a beautiful one. Her long, wavy brown hair cascades down her shoulders, and her pink lips are parted with such elegance, complementing the sultry way she poses her face for the portrait—or picture, even. She looks like a model, but something tells me she's not—at least not professionally. I believe so because I work at one of the biggest modeling agencies, and I handle every top model who’s ever walked past the company's door. If this woman is a model, she’d definitely be a top one, given her frame is resting on a billionaire’s wall.

Brandt set a manila folder on the desk between us without preamble. ‘The woman you asked about. I’ve compiled what’s available. It isn’t everything, given the tight time frame, but it’s enough to establish the broad picture.’ I opened the folder. The photograph was paper-clipped to the inside cover. A woman who looked to be in her early sixties but I knew was in fact a decade younger. The thick makeup did a passable job at hiding the damage – the deep-set lines, the hollowed cheeks, the particular greyish cast of skin that has been treated badly for a long time.

Maybe she is not that materialistic, I thought. Something caught the corner of my eyes. A canvas that laid face down by the dresser. I went over there and picked it up. It was a painting of a half-naked woman. She looked very similar to Rose yet different. She had the same long dark hair, big green eyes, and full lips but her features surrounding her nose were different. I wondered if it was her mom.

“It’s morbid.” “People gotta get their thrills somewhere,” William muttered, peering into a drawer. Alexandra stopped suddenly, nodding toward a nearby painting. I turned. It was a gloomy family portrait—father, mother, three kids. The artwork looked old, but there was something deeper—something wrong about it. The figures seemed to glare at us, hollow-eyed and mournful. “Great example of American Primitive, don’t you think?” a woman’s voice broke the silence. We turned as a young woman in a sleek black dress stepped down the spiral staircase. She was smiling politely, poised and confident.

Above the shrine hung a portrait, framed in ornate gold, that instantly captured my attention. The woman in the painting had an arresting presence. Her hair cascaded in waves of silver, catching the dim light from the candles, and her expression exuded a quiet strength and regality that I had never seen in person. "Who is she?" I wondered aloud, feeling a sense of reverence wash over me. Below the portrait, a small nameplate held an inscription in a language I couldn't decipher.