While in Paris, one of the motifs Petkovšek found interesting was that of the bride, and so this girl in non-specific but charming folk dress might be connected to the French capital and the year 1884; her dating and thus interpretation depend upon the attire portrayed – is that a reflection of French influences or, as seems to the untrained eye, a riff on Carniolan tradition. This guesswork is also linked to explanations of Petkovšek’s approaches to painting: the artist copied paintings and catalogs, and painted models, but the question remains as to how much he changed the source material and injected his own variations. The piece was owned by Matej Sternen, Petkovšek’s neighbor from Verd, and arrived at the National Gallery in 1922.

Depicting melancholy women became a trend in painting during the second half of the 19th century, as well as portraying brides before their wedding with sad or neutral facial expressions and defensive body language, along with a muted color palette, conveying a multifaceted and ambiguous message about what was usually a joyous affair. There are parallels among the permanent collection, at least in terms of posture and mood, for instance in the painting Sama (Alone) by Jurij Šubic (NG S 454), which was similarly produced in Paris. The girl in ethnic costume is turned away, serving as an example of a psychological portrait that finds its technique in the absence of the face and hands, which are usually the most communicative parts of the subject’s body.