French school, ca 1820

French school, ca 1820.
"Portrait of lady and girl".
Oil on canvas. Relined.
It shows wear and tear.
Measurements. 64 x 54 cm; 81 x 69 cm (frame).

Painting of sober elegance that responds to the codes of the bourgeois portrait of the first third of the XIX century. Both figures, reduced to the format of bust, are arranged frontally in front of the spectator, although their glances deviate towards the left, introducing a subtle psychological tension that avoids the rigid frontality. The lady appears wearing a mantilla that delicately frames her face, reinforcing the dignity and decorum of her social status. The girl, close to her, shares the same disposition, establishing a visual and affective bond that, although contained, refers immediately to the maternal-filial bond.

The work is part of a tradition of intimate portraits where women and childhood become the protagonists of a pictorial discourse linked to the sensibility of the time. In comparison with Henri-François Riesener's "Portrait of a Mother and Daughter", now in the collection of the National Gallery of Finland, there are remarkable affinities: in both cases the composition emphasizes the physical and symbolic proximity between mother and daughter, placing affection at the heart of the representation.

The theme of motherhood and childhood became increasingly important in the first decades of the 19th century. After the social and political changes of the Revolution and the Empire, bourgeois painting began to value private life, domestic affection and the moral ideal of the family as pillars of stability. The representation of mothers and children transcended the simple commemorative function to become a symbol of virtue, social cohesion and transmission of values. These images, therefore, not only documented the physiognomy of those portrayed, but also acted as allegories of the order and harmony expected of family life.