Portrait XIX: The Unknown Woman Of The Seine In Paris: A Mysterious Icon Painted On The Back Of The Painting

 PORTRAIT IMPRESSIONIST-REALIST 19th CENTURY IN ITS BEAUTIFUL ORIGINAL FRAME OF GILDED STUCCO;
THE PAINTING DEPICTS A YOUNG WOMAN WITH A BEAUTIFUL PRESENCE, SEEN FROM THE FRONT WITH A DEEP GAZE AGAINST A BACKGROUND OF SHIMMERING BURGUNDY,  THE PAINTING IS SIGNED IN THE UPPER LEFT CORNER "j.m; DIAZ."

HOWEVER, THE PORTRAIT ON THE BACK OF THE PAINTING REVEALS A REMARKABLE DISCOVERY;
A FACE WITH CLOSED EYES AND AN ENIGMATIC, FROZEN SMILE PAINTED IN CHALK WHITE,
                             ( THIS IS NOT A SIMPLE, FICTITIOUS PORTRAIT ,)
BUT RATHER A FAITHFUL AND METICULOUS REPRESENTATION OF THE UNKNOWN WOMAN OF THE SEINE .
IT IS THE FAMOUS PLASTER DEATH MASK OF AN ANONYMOUS YOUNG WOMAN FISHED OUT FROM THE SEINE IN PARIS AT THE END OF THE 19TH CENTURY, 
THIS FACE, CHARACTERIZED BY ITS MYSTERIOUS, ENIGMATIC SMILE, has become an
absolute artistic myth and an obsessive icon for writers (Aragon, Rilke,BEAUX ARTS À PARIS MAGAZINE)
AND THE PAINTERS OF THE YEARS 1890– 1920,
A FAMOUS PORTRAIT OF(HISTORICAL AND COLLECTIBILITY VALUE