Woman at a Confessional

Maker David Wilkie (Scottish, 1785 - 1841)

ClassificationsPAINTINGS

Dateca.1816

Mediumoil on panel

Dimensionspanel: 6 7/8 × 6 1/4 in. (17.5 × 15.9 cm.) frame: 10 3/4 × 10 × 2 1/4 in. (27.3 × 25.4 × 5.7 cm.)

DescriptionThis small size painting portrays a pious peasant woman kneeling at a confessional and holding her infant.

Credit LineThe Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens

Status

Not on view

Label TextThis painting probably began as a figure study, but the artist added a sketchily rendered ecclesiastical background in order to tell a fuller story. The figures of the woman and her infant are more solidly realized than the rest of the painting. With her back turned to the viewer, the woman kneels in the enclosed stall of the church, while her infant curiously looks around over her shoulders. The somber color scheme amplifies the intimacy of this quiet moment of devotion.

Bibliography

British paintings at the Huntington

Object number82.3