Portrait of Germaine Faipoult de Maisoncelle and Her Daughter Julie Playing the Spinet

Although they look casual, Germaine de Maisoncelle and her daughter have been carefully coded with gestures and symbols that celebrate Germaine’s virtues as a good mother. By presiding over Julie’s music making, she reveals her devotion to educating her daughter in the womanly arts. The harmony of Julie’s music symbolizes the deeper, emotional harmony between mother and daughter, while Germaine’s barely concealed breast emphasizes her maternal devotion. The artist drew on Christian symbols of motherly devotion to show these familial bonds, but he also depicted Germaine in brilliant robes that evoke ancient Roman dress—a nod to the elite family’s fashionable Neoclassical style.

2005.11