A Children’s Lunch after Jeanne-Élisabeth Chaudet
This exquisitely gentle composition is based on the work of Jeanne-Élisabeth Chaudet.
The scene depicts two children sharing a meal in an atmosphere of serenity and spontaneity. A young girl, dressed in an Empire-style gown, helps a younger child drink from a wooden bowl, while in the foreground, some fruit and a spoon are arranged on a stone tabletop, completing this still life.
It is fascinating to note that the first historical owner of the original painting was none other than Lucien Bonaparte, the Emperor’s brother and a great patron of the arts, which testifies to the immense prestige of this work from its creation.
Jeanne-Élisabeth Chaudet, née Itier, was an accomplished and renowned artist who navigated the very masculine art world of her time with brilliance, exhibiting regularly at the Salon between 1798 and 1817. The wife of the famous sculptor Antoine-Denis Chaudet, she specialized with immense success in portraits of children and animal scenes. Her talent for capturing the vulnerability and truth of early life without ever lapsing into sentimentality makes her a worthy heir to the 18th-century masters, while also paving the way for a new place for women artists within the French academic institution of the Consulate and Restoration periods.
France
19th century
Dimensions: 60 cm x 53 cm
