Germaine at her Toilette
Medium
Pastel on canvas
Dimensions
Sight: 108.3 × 59.7 cm (42 11/16 × 23 9/16 in.)
Classification
pastel
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
104929
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
This pastel portrait of Jean-François Raffaëlli’s eight-year- old daughter Germaine captures her youthful awkwardness as she prepares to wash. She stands still in rumpled stockings and a wrinkled petticoat, distracted for a moment before beginning her routine. Her plain attire and blank expression contrast with the elegance of her surroundings, which include a finely decorated china toilette set and a gauzy, lace-edged red cloth.