Italian school; second third of the 18th century."Portrait of a lady and child".Oil on canvas. Re-coloured.It presents frame of epoch with restorations.Measurements: 126 x 101 cm; 138 x 112 cm (frame).There is a religious inspiration in the representations of the mothers and the children, in such a way that it was not very frequent, in fact, the family portraits were not common until the 19th century, except for some concrete schools like for example the English one. In this work, the elegantly dressed sitters are set against a dark background that emphasises their corporeality and eliminates any distractions. The composition is classical, with the two figures in the usual triangle. As for the protagonists, they appear cold and distant, with serious gestures, although the boy's seems friendlier than that of his mother. A characteristic fact is that the young boy holds a watch which he holds just in front of his mother's belly in an almost metaphorical way.As in the rest of Europe, portraiture became the leading genre of painting in the 18th century as a result of the new social structures that were established in the Western world during that century, embodying the ultimate expression of the transformation in the taste and mentality of the new clientele that emerged among the nobility and the wealthy gentry, who were to take the reins of history in this period. While official circles gave precedence to other artistic genres, such as history painting, and the incipient collectors encouraged the profusion of genre paintings, portraits were in great demand for paintings intended for the more private sphere, as a reflection of the value of the individual in the new society. This genre embodies the permanent presence of the image of its protagonists, to be enjoyed in the privacy of a studio, in the everyday warmth of a family cabinet or presiding over the main rooms of the house.