Artwork
Girl at the Fountain
Girl at the Fountain is an oil painting by the Impressionist artist William Morris Hunt. It dates from 1853 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
As a work of mid-nineteenth-century American art, the piece functions as a straightforward depiction of daily life rather than an overt symbolic statement.
William Morris Hunt's 1852 oil painting presents a genre scene focused on a solitary girl positioned at a fountain. The composition restricts its iconography to these two primary elements, the female figure and the water source, without incorporating additional allegorical figures or complex narrative attributes. As a work of mid-nineteenth-century American art, the piece functions as a straightforward depiction of daily life rather than an overt symbolic statement.
The title and visual content align to represent a simple moment of interaction between the subject and the architectural feature, emphasizing the mundane over the mythological.
Technique & Style
Girl at the Fountain is an oil painting executed on canvas, a medium and support consistent with Hunt's mid-century practice. The work's dimensions, 116.8 cm in height by 90.2 cm in width, place it in a moderately large, vertically oriented format suited to a single standing figure grouped with a fountain motif.
Stylistically, the painting is classified as a genre scene, depicting a girl at a fountain. The combination of the everyday subject and the oil-on-canvas technique reflects the academic conventions of mid-nineteenth-century genre painting, in which Hunt worked during the period surrounding 1852.
The sources do not provide further detail on specific handling, surface condition, or stylistic attributes beyond the genre classification and medium.
History & Provenance
Girl at the Fountain was painted by William Morris Hunt in 1852, as indicated by the artist’s date and the work’s Wikidata entry.
The painting entered the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it remains located. Provenance details are not specified in the provided sources beyond its presence in the museum’s holdings as of the recorded date.
Girl at the Fountain is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, specifically within its American Wing. The painting, created by William Morris Hunt in 1852, is executed in oil on canvas and measures 116.8 cm in height by 90.2 cm in width. While the artwork depicts a girl at a fountain, the provided sources do not list a specific inventory or accession number for the piece. Furthermore, the available documentation contains no records regarding the painting's exhibition history.
Overview
William Morris Hunt's Girl at the Fountain, painted in 1853, is an oil on canvas work that exemplifies the Realism movement. This painting presents a quiet genre scene, depicting a young girl engaged in a moment of contemplation beside a water source. It reflects the artist's early engagement with themes of everyday life, rendered with attention to naturalistic detail. The artwork is housed within the American Wing, representing a significant period in American art history.
Context
William Morris Hunt's artistic development was significantly shaped by his training in Paris, particularly his studies with Jean-François Millet at the Barbizon artists’ colony. This experience introduced him to the Realist principles and the practice of depicting rural life. Upon returning to America, Hunt became instrumental in disseminating these influences, founding a Barbizon-inspired art community and establishing himself as a notable portrait and landscape painter in Boston.
Artist & collection
Artist
William Morris Hunt (March 31, 1824 – September 8, 1879) was an American painter.
