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Thank you Alexandra. I had in fact considered painting her dress blue making life easier. Deciding to use the Golden Barok red set up a challenging problem establishing a harmonious background.
I like backgrounds which change gradually in value and color. I decided on a greenish gray, green being the compliment of red. On the viewer's left I exposed the reddish orange ground the panel was prepared with lowering its value allowing me to go from dark to light. Then moving behind the figure with the negative triangular spaces produced by her hat ribbon and dress, the gray becomes more bluish. The idea was that the red, green and blue of the background would harmonize with the colors of the figure. What (I think) produced the "stillness" of the portrait was the greenish gray background and perhaps her expression.
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