Peasant Children Dancing
1654
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
About the artist
Artist
Mathieu Le Nain
Mathieu Le Nain (1607–1677) was a French artist, born in Laon.
See the richer artist page1654
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Peasant Children Dancing is a 1654 unspecified by Mathieu Le Nain, a Baroque work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
The painting shows children dancing in a rustic setting. They are dressed in simple clothes with heavy folds. The painter used earthy tones to set the mood. The children's faces are interesting - they have wide eyes and pudgy cheeks. This style is typical of the Master of the Béguins, an artist who copied the Le Nain brothers. You can learn more about this style by looking at the work of artist: Le Nain (French).
This scene of outdoor, rustic frivolity was probably painted by the Master of the Béguins, a Flemish imitator of the Le Nain brothers who capitalized on their success around the 1650s in Paris. Distinct features of this artist's style are the wide eyes, pudgy cheeks, and white peasant caps—béguins—that give the artist his name. The sturdy and comical peasants, clothed in coarse fabrics with heavy folds, and the use of earthen tones emphasize the provincial mood. During the mid-17th century, the treatment of the poor and lower classes was a subject of great debate in the Catholic Church in…
Read the full account in the museum source.
Mathieu Le Nain (1607–1677) was a French artist, born in Laon.
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