Artwork
The little faun
The little faun is an oil painting by the Post-Impressionist artist Charles Sims. It dates from 1905 and is held in the collection of the Fitzwilliam Museum.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
Charles Sims's The Little Faun is classified as both a genre scene and a mythological painting, blending domestic realism with classical fantasy.
Charles Sims's The Little Faun is classified as both a genre scene and a mythological painting, blending domestic realism with classical fantasy. The composition depicts a faun alongside a woman, a boy, and a girl within an interior setting that includes a table, a chair, and a tree. Blossoms are also present in the scene, contributing to the work's mythological atmosphere.
While the title highlights the faun, the inclusion of human figures and everyday furniture suggests an interaction between the mythical and the mundane, characteristic of the artist's approach to genre art.
Technique & Style
The Little Faun is an oil painting executed on canvas by Charles Sims between 1905 and 1906. The work measures 51.1 cm in height and 61.3 cm in width. As a genre and mythological painting, the composition depicts a faun alongside a woman, a boy, a girl, and various domestic elements such as a table, chair, and tree with blossoms.
The artist's signature, "Sims," is inscribed on the surface. The painting was created using traditional oil paint techniques on a canvas support, characteristic of early 20th-century genre scenes.
History & Provenance
Charles Sims created the oil-on-canvas painting The Little Faun between 1905 and 1906. The work measures 51.1 cm in height and 61.3 cm in width. It entered the collection of the Fitzwilliam Museum in 1943 as a gift from Mrs. Sigismund Goetze and is recorded under accession number 2547. The painting bears the artist's signature, "Sims," on the canvas.
While the artwork's creation is generally dated to 1905, some records specify the period of execution as spanning from 1905 to 1906.
Context
The Little Faun by Charles Sims was created in 1905 and is held as a genre scene with mythological elements at the Fitzwilliam Museum, where it remains in the collection. Sims, a British artist active in the early 20th century, worked primarily in oil paint on canvas, aligning with contemporary genre painting practices that often incorporated mythological subjects. The work measures 51.1 cm in height and 61.3 cm in width, documented in the museum's catalogue.
Its accession in 1943 through a gift from Mrs Sigismund Goetze underscores its integration into the museum's holdings, reflecting early 20th-century British art's engagement with mythological narratives within domestic and institutional contexts.
Overview
Created in 1905, The Little Faun is an oil painting by British artist Charles Sims. Executed in a post‑impressionist manner, the work presents a modest genre scene that combines figures, foliage and domestic objects. It is part of the Fitzwilliam Museum’s collection and exemplifies the transitional period of Sims’ career before his later, more surreal output.
Artist & collection
Artist
Charles Henry Sims (28 January 1873, Islington–13 April 1928, St. Boswells) was a British figurative painter known for his portraits and landscapes. He initially became renowned as a leading Edwardian painter, but…
