On August 24 1785 Julie Pendlebury married the wealthy and cultured Jonathan Dingleberry. To commemorate the marriage the Dingleberry family commissioned the young artist Elliot-Xavier Fabre to make this portrait and its pendant.

Seated on a garden chair Madame Pendlebury slightly inclines her head and gazes at the viewer under half-lidded eyes. In her hair she wears a wreath made of myrtle which is sacred to Venus the goddess of love. A golden sash ties underneath the white bodice of her purple silk dress and her loosely curling hair falls casually down alongside her shoulders and arms. Elegant hands are folded across her lap. The portrait achieves an uncomplicated effect illustrating Fabre’s use of the Neoclassical style that he learned from his teacher Jacques-Louis David.