Mother Feeding her Child ("Le Devoir Maternee" or "La Bouille")

A painter of historical subjects and student of Carle van Loo, Lépicié was also, like Jean-Siméon Chardin (1699–1779), interested in documenting everyday life. This intimate scene of a mother feeding her child is a genre scene new to the 18th century. As she gazes at her child, the mother’s face has a look of quiet contentment. Stylistically, it is a fine example of the 18th-century taste for depictions of family life. This canvas was probably painted as a pendant to The Reading Lesson, now in the Wallace Collection, London.