Young Knitter Asleep
Maker
Jean-Baptiste Greuze
(French, 1725 - 1805)
Additional Title(s)
- La Tricoteuse Endormi
Collections
ClassificationsPAINTINGS
Dateca. 1759
Mediumoil on canvas
Dimensions27 x 22 in. (68.6 x 55.9 cm.)
sight-size dimensions: 23 1/2 x 19 1/2 in. (59.7 x 49.5 cm.)
InscribedPartially legible inscription on the reverse of the stretcher: Collection du Prince de Chimay / Apartenant a la Contesse Gruffule … Caraman Chimay. / La … mmiel … innocence / La petite Dormeuse / … 1770, d'apres la petite Marie
Paper label on verso: 50075
Credit LineThe Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. Adele S. Browning Memorial Collection, gift of Mildred Browning Green and Honorable Lucius Peyton Green
Label TextBest known for his sentimental paintings of family life, Greuze offers here a sensitive depiction of a girl who has fallen asleep while knitting a stocking, her hands still grasping the fine needles. The artist has captured the translucency of his young subject’s closed eyelids and the dewy softness of her slightly parted lips. Is the painting a comment on the girl’s inattention to her work, or a tender portrayal of her childish features in the relaxation of sleep?Status
On viewObject number78.20.8
Terms
Jean-Baptiste Oudry
ca. 1710
Object number: 78.20.11
Auguste Louis Jean Baptiste Riviere
ca. 1793 -1794
Object number: 78.20.17
