Lady Munro

This painting is the second panel of a commissioned diptych. The portrait was done in the style of Holbein and features items relating to the heritage, family and interests of the person featured. The map in the background is of Bordeaux, the homeland of the sitter. She wears a dress in her favourite colours and the brooch at the centre is a reference to one of her favourite designers, Vivienne Westwood. In her hand she holds a thistle to represent her husband who is Scottish. The fruit in the background is a symbol of fertility, she has borne two daughters who are represented in the opposite panel (their names are on a scroll held in their father’s hand). The book represents her as a learned lady (she is a French teacher) and bears the motto ‘Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite, the national motto of France. The candle is merely a reference to the sitters love of candles.