Painting
1701-1800 (painted)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
It is relatively unusual to find a portrait of this date showing a baby alone. Most children of this age are depicted with at least one member of their family. The vestigial nature of the child's clothing is also relatively unusual. It has a precedent in the earlier use of nakedness or near-nakedness to indicate that a child is dead, as the younger son of the commissioning family is said to be in Holbein's 'Darmstadt' Madonna or sacred, like the Christ Child. Being not of the earth, they have no need of clothing, as Adam and Eve had none before they lost their innocence (Bible, Genesis Chapter 3).
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Oil colour on canvas |
| Brief description | Painting, portrait of an un-named baby, oil on canvas, by an unknown artist, Germany, 1701-1800. |
| Physical description | Oil painting on canvas, of portrait proportions, showing a young baby alone, seated on a red cushion and propped against a white bolster while holding a tasselled blue cord attached to draperies in the background. The baby is naked except for a chemise of translucent fabric incompletely worn (the child's left arm is not through the armhole and the garment is pulled down toward the waist somewhat). The painting is framed in plain gilded wood. |
| Dimensions |
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| Object history | Bought at Bonhams' Sale of Art and Antiques, 17/02/2010 in Oxford (RF 2010/ 559) together with painting B.154-2010. |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | It is relatively unusual to find a portrait of this date showing a baby alone. Most children of this age are depicted with at least one member of their family. The vestigial nature of the child's clothing is also relatively unusual. It has a precedent in the earlier use of nakedness or near-nakedness to indicate that a child is dead, as the younger son of the commissioning family is said to be in Holbein's 'Darmstadt' Madonna or sacred, like the Christ Child. Being not of the earth, they have no need of clothing, as Adam and Eve had none before they lost their innocence (Bible, Genesis Chapter 3). |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | B.155-2010 |
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| Record created | January 28, 2011 |
| Record URL |
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