Young Woman Ironing

Louis-Léopold Boilly (French, 1761–1845)

about 1800

Medium/TechniqueOil on canvas

Dimensions40.7 x 32.4 cm (16 x 12 3/4 in.)

Credit LineCharles H. Bayley Picture and Painting Fund

Accession number1983.10

On View

Not on view

ClassificationsPaintings

Collections

Europe

Description

Boilly's precise, intimate pictures, filled with anecdotal detail, were inspired by seventeenth-century Dutch paintings of daily life. This portrayal of a young laun- dress demonstrates Boilly's rich, warm color and masterful rendering of textures and materials. Note such details as the water carafe, the glazed ceramic pitcher, and the glowing brazier used to heat the irons.

InscriptionsLower right: L. LBoilly (second L and B joined)

ProvenancePossibly acquired in Paris by Nikolaus Reber-Passavant (b. 1735 - d. 1821) for the Burckhardt family, Basel and passed by descent through the family to Theodora von der Mühll-Burckhardt (b. 1895 - d. 1983), Basel [see note 1]; December 9, 1981, anonymous (von der Mühll and others) sale, Sotheby Parke-Bernet, London, lot 2, to Hazlitt, Gooden and Fox, London; 1983, sold by Hazlitt, Gooden and Fox to the MFA. (Accession Date: January 12, 1983)

NOTES:
[1] According to information provided by Sotheby's at the time of the painting's acquisition. The early provenance has not been verified.