Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Maternity
(18th and 19th Centuries )
Though little known abroad, Perrault enjoyed a considerable following in France as a painter of genre subjects and portraits. A student of Picot and Bouguereau, he made his first appearance in the Paris Salon in 1861. In addition to easel paintings he also produced some decorative works, including a ceiling decoration for the Marriage Chamber of the city hall of his native Poitiers.
In this interior scene that was first exhibited in the Paris Salon of 1873, Perrault shows a pretty young mother holding her young son. The child is nude and the mother wears a kimono, with her left shoulder and breast exposed. Perrault has excelled in achieving a remarkable richness of colors and textures: the embroidered saffron-colored silk of the mother's kimono constrasts with the rich purple velvet upholstery of the chair. The vibrantly colored Oriental rug and Japanese carved teak bed, on which rests a punchinello doll, reflect the vogue for Japanese products in 1870s France.
Inscription
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.
Aguado Sale, Paris, 1883, Les Joies maternelles; Mr. and Mrs. R. Denison Frick, Owings Mills, Maryland [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1978, by gift.
Conservation
| Date | Description | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| 12/18/1978 | Examination | other |
Geographies
France (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 67 1/16 x W: 43 7/8 in. (170.3 x 111.4 cm); Framed H: 76 1/2 x W: 55 x D: 3 1/2 in. (194.3 x 139.7 x 8.9 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Mrs. R. Denison Frick, 1978
Location in Museum
Not on view
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
37.2560