Masterpiece of the Week: Children Playing with a Lamb, 1840

Children Playing with a LambSwiss, 1840
The Victoria & Albert Museum

The painter Barthélemy Menn (1815-1893) was born in Geneva where he studied with some of the greatest Swiss and French painters of the Nineteenth Century.  Menn later studied with the famed Ingres and followed him in Rome where he produced portraits and landscapes similar in style to those of the school of Barbizon.

This 1840 painting, “Children Playing with a Lamb,” is a great example of Menn's transitional style when he ceased historical painting in favor of a freer approach based on natural themes. 

The genre scene depicts two women and two children playing with a lamb, which may be understood as a symbolic representation of the traditional image of Mary and Anne with the Infants Jesus and St John the Baptist.

It’s very Easter-y.  So, there you are.  

This painting was part of the collection of Rev. Chauncey Hare Townshend whom we know largely for his important collection of jewels.  The work was listed in the 1868 post-mortem register of the contents of his villa in Lausanne as “Oil on millboard. Children playing with a Lamb. By B. Menn. In frame. Signed. Swiss. Present century.”  It was bequeathed by Townshend to the V&A in 1868.

Painting of The Day: Catching Frogs, c. 1840

Click on the image to catch some froggies.
"Catching Frogs"
Switzerland, c. 1840-1847
The Victoria & ALbert Museum

Created in Switzerland between 1840 and 1847, this genre painting is the work of Barthélemy Menn (1815-1893) who studied with Ingres and followed him on his journey to Rome. Though he started with historical compositions, Menn is best remembered for his lush landscapes and handsome portraits in a manner similar to that of the Barbizon School—quite a departure from the influence of Ingres’ shiny Manneristic approach.

Take this painting, for example. We can clearly see the hand of Corot and the school of Barbizon guiding Menn’s brush. Executed in a broad style, this combination landscape and genre painting, entitled “Catching Frogs” neatly demonstrates Menn’s admiration for the rising Realist movement of the 1840s in France.

Hey! Guess what? Guess who bequeathed this painting to the V&A. Go on… I’ll wait.

Yes! It was our old friend, The Reverend Chauncey Hare Townshend. Shocking. 

Masterpiece of the Week: Children Playing with a Lamb, 1840

Children Playing with a LambSwiss, 1840
The Victoria & Albert Museum

The painter Barthélemy Menn (1815-1893) was born in Geneva where he studied with some of the greatest Swiss and French painters of the Nineteenth Century.  Menn later studied with the famed Ingres and followed him in Rome where he produced portraits and landscapes similar in style to those of the school of Barbizon.

This 1840 painting, “Children Playing with a Lamb,” is a great example of Menn's transitional style when he ceased historical painting in favor of a freer approach based on natural themes. 

The genre scene depicts two women and two children playing with a lamb, which may be understood as a symbolic representation of the traditional image of Mary and Anne with the Infants Jesus and St John the Baptist.

It’s very Easter-y.  So, there you are. 

This painting was part of the collection of Rev. Chauncey Hare Townshend whom we know largely for his important collection of jewels.  The work was listed in the 1868 post-mortem register of the contents of his villa in Lausanne as “Oil on millboard. Children playing with a Lamb. By B. Menn. In frame. Signed. Swiss. Present century.”  It was bequeathed by Townshend to the V&A in 1868.