Artwork
Nanny and Child
Nanny and Child is an oil painting by the Impressionist artist Eva Gonzalès. It dates from 1878 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
- Inscription
- Inscribed:lower left: Eva Gonzalès
About this work
Subject & Meaning
Eva Gonzalès's 1877 painting, Nanny and Child, depicts a domestic scene focusing on the intimate interaction between a caregiver and a young child.
Eva Gonzalès's 1877 painting, Nanny and Child, depicts a domestic scene focusing on the intimate interaction between a caregiver and a young child. The work captures a quiet, everyday moment of care, characteristic of the artist's interest in modern life and interior settings. While the title explicitly identifies the figures, the composition emphasizes the bond and attentiveness inherent in the relationship, presenting a straightforward representation of 19th-century domesticity without overt symbolic embellishment.
Technique & Style
Eva Gonzalès painted Nanny and Child in 1877 using oil on canvas, a technique characteristic of her realist yet intimate domestic scenes. The work measures 65 cm by 81.4 cm and is executed on a canvas support, reflecting her precise brushwork and nuanced handling of light to render the tender interaction between caregiver and child. Its formal composition emphasizes quiet domesticity through balanced spatial arrangement and restrained color modulation, aligning with Gonzalès' broader stylistic focus on everyday intimacy.
The painting's material integrity remains intact, with the oil medium applied to a sturdy canvas substrate preserving the artist's textural and compositional intentions without noted degradation.
History & Provenance
The painting was created by Eva Gonzalès in 1877 in Paris.
Its provenance begins with the artist, who retained it until her death in 1883. It was then included in her estate sale at Hôtel Drouot in Paris on 20 February 1885, where it was listed as lot 54. By at least 1932 the work was held by Lanvin in Paris, plausibly the fashion designer Jeanne Lanvin.
Ownership later passed into the Polignac family through Lanvin’s daughter’s marriage. The painting was acquired in 1994 by Simon Rosenberg and subsequently purchased on 10 July 2006 via Brame & Lorenceau, Paris, for the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Nanny and Child entered the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., on July 10, 2006. The museum acquired the work through the Parisian dealer Brame & Lorenceau, having previously been owned by Simon Rosenberg since 1994. Prior to Rosenberg, the painting was held in Paris by Lanvin, a possession documented as early as 1932, and originally belonged to the artist before being sold in her estate auction at Hôtel Drouot in 1885.
The work is cataloged within the National Gallery of Art's holdings following this 2006 purchase.
Overview
Created in 1878, Nanny and Child is an oil on canvas by French painter Eva Gonzalès. The work presents a quiet domestic moment, featuring a woman in a white dress and hat standing beside a child who is opening a gate. A blue umbrella rests on the ground, adding a splash of colour to the scene.
Context
The late nineteenth century saw a growing interest among Impressionist painters in domestic interiors and everyday life. Gonzalès, trained in the studio of Édouard Manet, applied this interest to a scene of childcare, reflecting broader social concerns about family and the role of women in the private sphere.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Eva Gonzalès (19 April 1847 – 6 May 1883) was a French Impressionist painter. She was one of the four most notable female Impressionists in the nineteenth century, along with Mary Cassatt (1844–1926), Berthe Morisot…
