Images(2)

Young Knitter Asleep

Maker Jean-Baptiste Greuze (French, 1725 - 1805)

Additional Title(s)

La Tricoteuse Endormi

Collections

European Painting Highlights

ClassificationsPAINTINGS

Dateca. 1759

Mediumoil on canvas

Dimensions27 x 22 in. (68.6 x 55.9 cm.) sight-size dimensions: 23 1/2 x 19 1/2 in. (59.7 x 49.5 cm.)

InscribedPartially legible inscription on the reverse of the stretcher: Collection du Prince de Chimay / Apartenant a la Contesse Gruffule … Caraman Chimay. / La … mmiel … innocence / La petite Dormeuse / … 1770, d'apres la petite Marie Paper label on verso: 50075

Credit LineThe Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. Adele S. Browning Memorial Collection, gift of Mildred Browning Green and Honorable Lucius Peyton Green

Status

On view

Label TextBest known for his sentimental paintings of family life, Greuze offers here a sensitive depiction of a girl who has fallen asleep while knitting a stocking, her hands still grasping the fine needles. The artist has captured the translucency of his young subject’s closed eyelids and the dewy softness of her slightly parted lips. Is the painting a comment on the girl’s inattention to her work, or a tender portrayal of her childish features in the relaxation of sleep?

Object number78.20.8

Terms