Painting fixed under glass, 19th century

Early 19th-century painting. Technique / Painting on glass is a unique technique because the artwork is created on the back of the glass. While on a canvas one sketches the composition in broad strokes, then applies flat areas of color, and finally adds details gradually, in reverse glass painting, the process is reversed. Unlike the standard technique, where details (the nose, eyes, flowers) are painted before the background (the face, the landscape), the viewer must look at the finished work on the unpainted side of the glass plate.