|
Date: |
|
Description: | Signed: yes Description: Signed and dated 1874, the Russell-Cotes painting A Girl Knitting by Theodore Gerard is a fine example of the artist's mature style. This genre painting is rooted in the seventeenth-century Dutch tradition but is also a significant contribution to the romantic tradition of Dutch nineteenth-century genre painting. In the Russell-Cotes painting Gerard treats the subject of A Girl Knitting with a spontaneity that reveals the quiet intimacy of the scene. The protagonist, wearing a white blouse and a red dress, is seated on a wooden chair lit by natural light from behind. She is bent over her work, on which she concentrates intently, while a cat plays with a ball of wool beneath her chair. At her feet is a basket filled with fabrics and beside her on the table, draped with a striped covering, Gerard beautifully depicts a further cream and turquoise cloth. Beside this is a magnificent narrow necked blue and white vase filled with corn and poppies indicating the season as summer. In the background there is a large ornately carved wardrobe with open doors and an empty gilded birdcage hangs from the ceiling. The scene represents the untroubled contentment of youth, while details such as the birdcage, often a symbol of passion, hint at the troubles of adulthood. | Subjects: | everyday life; interior; figure; animal (cat) | Source: | Vads | Creator: | Artist: Gerard, Theodore (Belgian, 1829-1895) Æ | Identifier: | http://www.vads.ac.uk/large.php?uid=8470... | Go to resource |
|
|