Albert Edelfelt

• Albert Edelfelt : From the Luxembourg Gardens , 1887, 144x188, oil, canvas (A II 835, Antell) (52.2 kB)

Back in the 19th century, fine town ladies seldom nursed or minded their own children. As nurseries and kindergartens were unheard of back in those days, children were taken care of by nursemaids and wet nurses. In their long capes and ribboned bonnets, they were to be seen in the parks of Paris minding little girls in clean, white lace frocks and little boys in black caps, jackets and knicker-bockers.

Edelfelt was not keen on using children as models – they were too noisy and fidgety, and impossible to have a decent conversation with! Never sitting still for longer than a moment, they were always dashing off to play hoop or build sand-castles. In the end, Edelfelt settled for a toy doll dressed as a real child. This he could study at leisure without having to worry whether it was thirsty, hungry or sleepy.

From the Luxembourg Gardens captures a fleeting moment in time. In the wink of an eye, the little girl will be off rolling her hoop, the sand-castle built and the sun might slip behind a cloud. It took Edelfelt two whole years to capture this moment on canvas.

Albert Edelfelt : From the Luxembourg Gardens