'The Children of Count Bentinck' ('Ida, Adrian and Frederic Marryat')

Painting details

Title: 'The Children of Count Bentinck' ('Ida, Adrian and Frederic Marryat')
Date: 1852
Media: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 129.5 x 90.0 cm
Location: The Forbes Magazine Collection, New York, U.S.A.

Interpretation

Signed with monogram on the frame: Christie, 52 The Drive, Tonbridge, Kent

Description

This is an oval painting of three children in the interior of a house. The uppermost child is a young girl with brown eyes and long brown hair, and she wears a green dress with brown fur around the cuffs. She holds a white dog that has a blue bow tied around its neck with its back to the viewer. She holds the dog upright beside her, using her left hand to support its side and her right hand to support its tail. Below her on the left is a boy, with long brown hair and brown eyes, who is wearing a dark, buttoned coat with brown fur around the neck. He sits with his left leg tucked underneath him so that viewers can see the bottom of his shoe, and his leg hanging off the bench upon which he is sitting. He faces the right of the scene looking directly at the viewer, with his right hand placed on the surface of the bench and his left hand and arm hidden from view. To the right of the scene is a baby lying with its arms in the air on a white pillow, which itself rests on an orange-red pillow. The baby is dressed in a white cap and gown, and has a pink bow wrapped around her waist. Below the shelf on which the children are perched is a small wooden basket that contains vegetables. In the background of the scene is an open window, with a tall plant on the left side and clouds further beyond that.

Provenance

Formerly of the Bentinck family; Untraced.

Bibliography

• Ormond, LeonTe and Richard, 'Lord Leighton', Yale University Press, London, 1975, p.149, catalogue number 12