Peasant Children Dancing
1650s
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
unframed: 91.8 × 120.3 cm · framed: 111 × 142 × 8 cm
Classification
Painting
Department
European Painting and Sculpture
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of Mrs. Salmon P. Halle in memory of Salmon Portland Halle
Accession Number
1958.175.2
Tags
About this artwork
This scene of outdoor, rustic frivolity was probably painted by the Master of the Béguins, a Flemish imitator of the Le Nain brothers who capitalized on their success around the 1650s in Paris. Distinct features of this artist's style are the wide eyes, pudgy cheeks, and white peasant caps—béguins—that give the artist his name. The sturdy and comical peasants, clothed in coarse fabrics with heavy folds, and the use of earthen tones emphasize the provincial mood. During the mid-17th century, the ...
About the Artist
Le Nain (French)
Georges Hugnet (1906–1974) was a multifaceted French artist, poet, writer, and critic whose innovative collages and graphic works bridged Dada and Surrealism. Born in Paris on July 11, 1906, he spent much of his early childhood in Buenos Aires, Argentina, returning to France around 1913. His early life and artistic training remain sparsely documented, with no records of formal art school attendanc...