Artwork
Portrait of a Little Girl Picking Grapes
Portrait of a Little Girl Picking Grapes is an oil painting. It dates from 1845 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
- Accession no.
- 1973.323.6
- Credit line
- Gift of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch, 1973
About this work
A little girl in a white dress holds a bunch of purple grapes, sunlight falling across her lap and the wooden table beside her. Painted in America around 1840, when most portraits showed stiff adults. Here she relaxes, one foot tucked under her skirt, lips parted as if mid-laugh, the plump grapes a quiet display of skill with light and texture.
Subject & Meaning
The iconography centers on the specific elements of the girl, the grape clusters, and the tree, which together form the visual narrative of the composition.
The work depicts a young girl engaged in the act of picking grapes, set against a backdrop that includes a tree. As a portrait genre piece created circa 1850, the subject is defined by her interaction with the fruit and the natural environment. The iconography centers on the specific elements of the girl, the grape clusters, and the tree, which together form the visual narrative of the composition.
While the artist remains anonymous, the painting captures a moment of childhood activity within a rural or garden setting. The representation focuses on the literal depiction of these figures and objects without additional allegorical context provided in the records, presenting a straightforward scene of a child harvesting fruit.
Technique & Style
The painting is executed in oil on canvas, a standard mid-nineteenth-century support that allowed for the layered handling typical of American portraiture of the period. The canvas measures 91 cm in height by 73.3 cm in width, providing a vertical format suited to the half-length figural composition. The work is classified within The American Wing, consistent with its 1850 date and its genre status as a portrait.
Stylistically, the subject, a girl shown with grapes and a tree, is rendered in the conventions of anonymous American portraiture of the mid-1800s, though the unattributed status of the artist limits further stylistic attribution. No further details regarding condition, specific pigment handling, or stylistic school are documented in the available records.
History & Provenance
Created in 1850, this oil on canvas portrait is attributed to an unknown artist. The work, which measures 91 by 73.3 centimeters, depicts a young girl harvesting grapes near a tree. While specific details regarding its original commission or early ownership history are not recorded in the available documentation, the painting is currently held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
There, it is classified within the institution's American Wing. The piece has been identified in museum records simply as an anonymous painting from the mid-nineteenth century, with no further information provided concerning its provenance prior to its acquisition by the museum.
Overview
This oil on canvas, titled "Portrait of a Little Girl Picking Grapes," was created in America around 1840. It presents a departure from the formal adult portraits common at the time, instead capturing a young subject in a moment of natural ease. The artist emphasizes the girl's relaxed posture and the tactile quality of the fruit she holds, bathed in natural light.
Context
Created in America during the 1840s, this portrait offers a contrast to the more conventional, formal depictions of adults prevalent in the era. While many contemporary portraits emphasized decorum and status through rigid poses, this work embraces a more candid representation of childhood. It reflects a subtle shift in artistic approach, capturing an individual's personality rather than merely their social standing.
Artist & collection
