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  • Children Blowing Bubbles

  • Mid 19th century
  • Artist unknown, Italy
  • Oil on linen
  • 81.1 x 65.3 cm., 31-15/16 x 25-5/8"
  • Catherine Carter Goebel, Paul A. Anderson Chair in the Arts Purchase with Gift in Memory of Mr. James Fletcher, Paul A. Anderson Art History Collection, Augustana College 2004.13

Essay by Jessica Whetzal, Class of 2007

This charming oil painting on linen is likely from nineteenth-century Italy. The artist and title are unknown, but the loose brushstrokes and subject matter relate to nineteenth-century Impressionism. This image of Children Blowing Bubbles is a genre scene, meaning that it captures a slice of everyday life. Such scenes were popular with the growing bourgeoisie who valued straightforward representations of the real world. Following the Enlightenment, and with the advent of Romanticism, the state of childhood was elevated. As a result, fairytales were collected and beautiful illustrated children's books were published to reinforce the wonder of childhood and that children should be allowed to be children, and enjoy themselves with leisure activities. Specific colors of this piece stand out, for example the bright red color on the young girl's bandana and the rosy pink in their cheeks. The bubbles are painted in trompe l'oeil (trick the eye) manner, with amazing translucence, making viewers believe they are real and possibly coming out of the artwork itself. The manner in which the bubbles and children seem to extend from the frame reinforces this illusion.

Displayed are a young boy, perhaps four or five years old, and most likely his older sister who appears to be around ten years of age. The girl seems to be taller and in older sister fashion, she shares the cup of bubbles with the boy. It seems reasonable to conclude they are siblings because of their similar facial features. Also, their proximity reflects a comfortable familial relationship, similar to those depicted by Mary Cassatt between mothers and their children (web gallery 95, 101 and 102). The dark background prevents the audience from being distracted from the subject at hand.

Middle-class children were now allowed more freedom and the ability to play. Although slow to change, efforts developed to ultimately abandon child labor, acknowledging the importance of childhood development. Parents began to provide a separate space within the home in which their children could play, called the nursery, indoor play area or day nursery (Foy and Schlereth 84). Family time was not taken for granted and capturing such subtle nuances of everyday activities was natural for nineteenth-century Impressionists, aided by photography. This work is thus not merely a genre scene, but a document that reflects the changing role of childhood in the nineteenth century. This artist has effectively captured a quick, lively moment in history, perhaps as fragile and transient as the very bubbles depicted.